Designing for Durability Strategies for achieving maximum durability with wood-frame construction

Architects specify wood for many reasons, includingcost, ease and efficiency of construction, designversatility, and sustainability—as well as its beautyand the innate appeal of nature and natural materials.Innovative new technologies and building systemsare also leading to the increased use of wood as astructural material, not only in houses, schools, andother traditional applications, but in larger, taller, andmore visionary wood buildings. But even as the useof wood is expanding, one significant characteristicof wood buildings is often underestimated: theirdurability. Misperceptions still exist that buildingsmade of materials such as concrete or steel lastlonger than buildings made of wood. Although thisconnection between materials and building longevityis often assumed, it is not borne out in fact, as will bediscussed in this course.