American Framing

Balloon Framing: The typical American construction method is capable of blurring the boundaries within America's socially and economically deeply divided society as well as the differences between building typologies

From its origins in the Midwest in the early nineteenth century, the technique of light timber framingalso known at the time as Chicago constructionquickly came to underwrite the territorial and ideological expansion of the United States. Softwood construction was inherently practical, as its materials were readily available and required little skill to assemble. The result was a built environment that erased typological and class distinctions: no amount of money can buy you a better 2 x 4. This fundamental sameness paradoxically underlies the American culture of individuality, unifying all superficial differences. It has been both a cause and effect of the country's high regard for novelty, in contrast with the stability that is often assumed to be essential to architecture.

American Framing is a visual and textual exploration of the social, environmental, and architectural conditions and consequences of this ubiquitous form of construction. For architecture, it offers a story of an American project that is bored with tradition, eager to choose economy over technical skill, and accepting of a relaxed idea of craft in the pursuit of something useful and newthe forming of an architecture that enables architecture.

• A visual and written exploration of the evolution, conditions, and consequences of softwood timber-framed construction in American architecture since 1832
• Highlights how this quintessentially American construction type dominates the built landscape in the USA
• Demonstrates how timber-framed construction erased typological and social distinctions in a socially and economically deeply divided country

• Features newly commissioned images by American photographers Daniel Shea and Chris Strong

  Autorentext

  Paul Andersen leitet das Büro Independent Architecture in Denver, Colorado, das sich spekulativ mit den Themen der Form, Wiederholung und Popkultur in der Architektur auseinandersetzt.

Jayne Kelley lebt und arbeitet als Publizistin und Herausgeberin in Chicago und lehrt als Gastdozentin an der Architekturfakultät der University of Illinois at Chicago.

Paul Preissner führt sein Studio Paul Preissner Architects in Oak Park, Illinois, und lehrt als Associate Professor an der Architekturfakultät der University of Illinois at Chicago.