Structural Element for ARC 532 History

By Sean Hartman

In our ARC 532 History class we all had to find a structural element or building of our choice and create a mock up model of the element or building that we chose. This had to be something from a non-western architectural setting.

I chose to a Japanese joinery, which connected two beams together. After studying the plans and trying to figure out how I was going to construct this it seemed to me that it took a master craftsman to complete such task. Their joinery techniques were complex and took skill to do. Japanese didn't have the means or resources to create extravagant concrete or masonry buildings, but what they did have was large trees that could create heavy timber frame buildings. But after creating so many large buildings with what they thought was good heavy timber, the Japanese reverted using trees that they had passed over for the larger trees. With smaller trees they had to come up with a way to connect beams and other members together thus the creation of Japanese joinery. With this practice the Japanese was still able to construct buildings the same way as they once did with the timber that they harvested from the larger trees.

I chose the Okkake Daisen Tsugi ( Dadoed and rabbetted scarf joint). This type of joint was used to splice together ground sills, girders, and beams. There are multiple types of joints to do just this. These take a great deal of craftsmanship. "The numerous joints require expert technique to construct. They also give the impression of having been designed strictly for appearance by a master craftsman. However tsugite and shiguchi were developed on the basis of structural principles, to resist shear, bending, and moment during an era when metals were scarce." (Complete Japanese Joinery pg. 173) Below are some pictures of the joinery that I have completed for my structural element project.