Timber-frame construction puts gravity and lateral loads into fewer, larger members. It relies on exposed beams and open spans as defining architectural features. That differs from conventional wood ...

TAKES A VILLAGE: Barron Brown directs a crew at a barn raising near Marshall. Photo by Storms Reback It’s not every day you get invited to a barn raising, so when I did, I jumped at the opportunity.

We’ve been using wood to build things for a very long time. According to the recently discovered remains of a half-a-million-year-old wooden structure in Africa, we’ve been building with wood before ...