The irony of making a tree out of wood?

[Crazyraceguy]

Yes, an indoor project for a local library included this square re-imagining of a tree. It is actually a fairly clever way to disguise a column that is supporting the second floor.
I built it from CNC cut inner plates that were covered with ply (or bending ply) then veneered and solid wood edges at the corners. The limbs are all rectangular, tapering as it goes upward. It's well over 30 feet high, in an open foyer area. The green stuff at the base is some kind of flooring, similar to old fashioned lanoleum, but more flexible.
The whole time this project was in the shop the joke was made about cutting down trees to make plywood and veneer......just to make a tree out of it?
This was just part of a huge job encompassing almost all of the furniture, book cases, display cases, circulation desks and cabinets. I have plenty more to show, if anyone is interested.

 

[mike_aa]

That's pretty amazing!  Nice job!

Thanks for sharing and please share more.

Mike A.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

There are a lot more to that job.
That first little desk looks like OSB, but it was really some resin impregnated stuff that was rather expensive and very heavy.....ugly though.
The second is a part of a partition wall, that separated children's reading area. it is intended to be climbed into and layed on.
The 3rd is a feature wall in an upstairs "adults only" quiet space.
The last one is just a couple of more than a dozen rolling display units. They were all a combination of cherry and maple, a few different shapes, but similar.

 

[tjskinny]

That is very cool !  Nice work and looks like a lot of work too.  Well done and thanks for sharing !

 

[Joelm]

Wow congrats on a fantastic job!

My kids would love to visit a library like that.

 

[mcooley]

This one is worth pondering a bit.
http://magazine.art21.org/2012/11/02/the-undead-tree-of-charles-ray/#.YBbHG-hKjIU

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Wow congrats on a fantastic job!

My kids would love to visit a library like that.

Funny thing is, when we first started this job, which was the first of a few library jobs over a period of a couple of years, the first thing I thought was...Why? I thought libraries were essentially dead? With the proliferation of the internet, why would anyone even need the one that existed, much less a huge brand-new one? Now, it's not without controversy, because it is very new and modern looking on the outside. It is planted right on the main street of the "old downtown" part of a suburb. But the people who wanted it, really love it. I just had no clue, I hadn't been inside of a library since high school and didn't know they were still a thing?
We have done a few others since. A couple of them were just remodels, but two others were complete ground-up builds and there is another going on right now that is kind of a hybrid.  It's a remodel in the sense that part of the building is still there and obviously in the same location, but it is completely gutted to the shell and an addition twice it's original footprint is being added. It's so far from completion that I haven't seen anything about the interior build-out yet though.

This pic comes from another library, just about 2 miles from the shop. It is a small information desk for one of the departments. That little bump-out to the left is a "purse shelf". I had never heard of that? but I guess it makes some sense? The architect actually came to see it, in the shop, while I was still building it. He wasn't sure how it could even be done and wanted to see it in person. I thought it was amusing, but he said, "Just because it works on paper, doesn't mean it can be built that way".
The angles are very slight, which makes for steep/sharp cuts, but it does work. That whole lower section bumps out only a few degrees and goes around a 45 degree corner at the same time. Then everything juts out toward the top. Six different plains meet at that corner, from 2 different materials of different thicknesses.

 

[Jasonj888]

I teach at a small community college in North Dakota. For several years it was clear our campus library needed to be replaced - the slab was broke like a fault line and it's 1970's architecture wasn't worth saving. The folks on campus were wise - they really thought about what a college library should be in today's world. I read a lot, but everything is a digital format, so it made me wonder what a library should be too. They settled on something that has a lot of windows (not traditional library) and a bunch of open and separate secluded study and meeting space. There are still bunches of books, but they are almost hidden away in the part of the library that doesn't have as many books. Amazing work on your part - the tree is very cool!