{"id":6568,"date":"2026-04-02T20:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=6568"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:34:48","slug":"experimental-pavilion-in-oregon-challenges-the-rectilinear-logic-of-mass-timber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/02\/experimental-pavilion-in-oregon-challenges-the-rectilinear-logic-of-mass-timber\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental pavilion in Oregon “challenges the rectilinear logic” of mass timber"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lake<\/div>\n

US architecture studio Lake Flato<\/a> and engineering and construction firm Structurecraft have experimented with dowel-laminated timber for a pavilion<\/a> at the Mass Timber Conference in Oregon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lake Flato<\/a> and Structurecraft<\/a> collaborated on the pavilion, which utilises dowel-laminated timber (DLT). Originally engineered<\/a> in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, DLT has become more popular in the US market in the last decade.<\/p>\n

“The installation introduces a bending-active shell system formed from dowel-laminated timber (DLT), which challenges the rectilinear logic that has defined mass timber construction for decades,” said Lake Flato.<\/p>\n

\"Lake
Lake Flato and Structurecraft collaborated on a mass-timber pavilion in Oregon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As with the more popular mass-timber<\/a> products, glued-laminated timber and cross-laminated timber, DLT uses softwood held together by a hardwood dowel, creating panels that can bend flatwise. It is an alternative to rigid mass-timber slabs.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t use nails, it doesn’t use glue,” Lake Flato partner Ryan Yaden told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“It only uses friction between wood. And that’s what was really enticing for us, why we really gravitated to it. We’re trying to reduce the impact on the environment.”<\/p>\n

\"Lake
It features innovations in dowel-laminated timber<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The effect is an incredibly flexible panel that can be used for flooring and for ceilings, and, as the technology progresses, can potentially be used for more structural applications.<\/p>\n

“It’s almost like fabric, but once it’s put together in certain ways, it becomes extremely rigid,” said Yaden. “It just drapes into place and then locks together.”<\/p>\n

\"Lake
The panels are flexible before being fitted together, where they become rigid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lake Flato worked with a proprietary dowel model from Structurecraft to create the 20-by-30-foot (six-by-nine-metre) pavilion. It featured standard two-by-four slats and was shipped flat before being assembled.<\/p>\n

Once shaped into the wavy forms, the walls were fitted into pre-routed tracks on the ceiling element, which has straps and plywood on top to create extra rigidity.<\/p>\n

“Mass timber is no longer flat,” Structurecraft VP and head of engineering Lucas Epp told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Our structural concept takes flat-packed mass timber panels and drapes them into curves on site to create shell action, greatly increasing structural efficiency,” he continued. “This is the first time a bending-active system has been created with timber enabling shells.”<\/p>\n

\"Lake
The panel elements were flat-packed and shipped<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On one side, the flexibility of the material is demonstrated by a door that swings out.<\/p>\n

Yaden said that the structure presents both biophilic elements and a demonstration of physics meant to draw in people, and that the studio wanted to show the technology could be scalable.<\/p>\n

“I think there’s something very seductive about the way these forms come together, in the physics of structure, that people naturally gravitate towards,” said Yaden. “It’s a balance of practicality and surprise that makes people want to engage more meaningfully.”<\/p>\n