Whole Tree Architecture is in the business of using what lumber companies consider scrap and incorporated it into beautiful architecture.
The ‘scrap’ is culled trees from the building sight, trees thinned from forests or trees downed by wind or disease. You can probably guess this practice has ecological and economic benefits, but it also has engineering benefits too. Forest Products Laboratory tells us ‘a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree.’ Very cool.