Unmilled Timber Frames Go High Tech, Replacing Steel

Round, unmilled timber might seem obsolete, but by using high-tech scanning and modeling, one company is bringing this form back into designers’ repertoires at a cost that can compete with steel. And we’re not just talking for a rustic log cabin aesthetic either: the company’s fast-growing portfolio of projects includes contemporary designs at a high-end bakery, an industrial commercial building, and an outdoor pavilion.

For centuries, milling and planing have been used to cut wood into standardized sizes, but that process also reduces the material’s strength. WholeTrees, a company out of Madison, Wisconsin, skips those steps, keeping trees intact for use in engineered structural systems.