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A humble timber renaissance is taking place worldwide, with proponents seeking to reconnect with the natural world.
Buildings made from natural timbers have been springing up across the country as part of wood encouragement policies.
And now somewhat forgotten wood libraries — known as xylaria — are also drawing in new visitors.
Wood lovers get a wide sample of local and exotic timbers in the stoic shelves of the collection.
Springtime for natural materials
Dr Matthew Brookhouse, a senior lecturer at ANU’s Fenner School, which includes a xylarium, said the resurgent interest stemmed from the tangible qualities of wood.
“When you walk into the foyer there’s a rich kind of warmness that perhaps you don’t receive in less natural spaces,” he said.
“You have a sense of time and history that is embedded in the product.
“These are very critical aspects of wood that people take a lot of pleasure from.”
The sizable wood collection at ANU has been built up over the past century.
A wide range of samples from bleached basalt to deep ebony were sourced for reference purposes.
“We didn’t know that much about Australian timbers and we didn’t know very much about regional timbers,” Dr Brookhouse said.
“We could examine wood properties, test strength and durability, as well as develop keys to identify the timber.”
The practical uses for xylaria diminished over the decades as people lost their connection with natural materials.
Recent visitors have included students, craftsmen and even artists who are stumped on the identity of a wood product.
Back-of-house assets kept in storage make up the bulk of the collection.
Dr Brookhouse said he’d like more samples to go on display so the collection became more relevant.
“It’s difficult to justify that kind of space when we have many people and activities within the school,” he said.
“It would be great to increase the accessibility of the collection by digitising, but that doesn’t mean that we would ever consider getting rid of the physical wood.”
Collections like the one at ANU also have particular significance in the global timber trade.
“Worldwide there is a commitment to controlling that illegal timber trade and Australia is a signatory,” Dr Brookhouse said.
“Wood identification is central to determining whether timber is the timber it’s being sold as.”
Touring the global forest
The forestry building itself can be viewed as a giant library of world timbers.
Samples from around the globe were sourced during its establishment and each room has been given a regional name based on its materials.
English oak was selected for the British room, while the Californian room was mainly built from redwood.
Designers did not shy away from using wood that featured prominent knots and veins, which are sometimes viewed as defects.
An upstairs seminar room made from Monterey pine highlighted the black spots in the material.
“We’ve come to appreciate features like that in wood,” Dr Brookhouse said.
“Timber has a story embedded within that tells you about where it’s come from.
“If you were to buy timber decking, you’ll actually pay a slightly higher price for that timber.”
Some of the clearest surfaces featured inside the Fenner School are made out of chipboard laminate.
Dr Brookhouse said he was conflicted about the cheap material which was often regarded as disposable.
“Chipboard laminate is a good use of what we would normally throw away,” he said.
“Because it can be relatively cheaply made and put together, we regard its longevity in a different way.”
He has even rationalised student graffiti which has been carved into lecture theatre desks.
“I’m willing to have a broad mind when it comes to things like this.
“Maybe this tells us about the student experience and connects us back to the wonderful historical aspects of timber.”
A philosophical shift has taken place at the forestry school to draw in visitors as well as new students.
Cloistered offices have been hollowed out to encourage face time and dialogue.
“We’re finding that it’s important to step back and engage with traditional learning,” Dr Brookhouse said.
“I think we’re rediscovering something that maybe in decades past we lost.”
Topics: library-museum-and-gallery, trees, horticulture, science, human-interest, history, community-and-society, science-and-technology, australian-national-university-0200, canberra-2600
