Timbercraft: Lost Tectonics from East Asia

Author: Jae K Kim

Design: Studio Joost Grootens https://www.joostgrootens.nl/, Julie da Silva Lenoir

Drawing: JK-AR—Seung-hoon Lee, Jisun Yoon, Gyu-tae Kim, Tae-wook Kang, Kyung-mok Lee, Sae-yun Lee, Byung-joon Cho—under the editorial supervision of Jae K Kim, who prepared the final plates

Photographs: Jae K Kim (Chapter 2), Rohspace (Chapter 4)

Lithography: Marc Gijzen

Printing: Damen Drukkers

Production: Marja Jager, nai010 publishers, Rotterdam

Publisher: Marcel Witvoet, nai010 publishers, Rotterdam https://www.nai010.com/en/product/timbercraft/

People

ISBN: 9462089639

Language: English

Pages: 168

Cover: Softcover with dust jacket

Dimensions: 220 x 300 mm

Specification

The Book

Open book showing the table of contents with chapters on East Asian timber architecture, visual journey, modern shift, reinvention, and an appendix.

Illustration of East Asian timber architecture with multiple pagoda-style buildings arranged from left to right, including a tall multi-tiered pagoda in the center and smaller structures, with some trees in the background.

Timbercraft traces East Asian timber architecture through its history, structural evolution, and contemporary possibilities.

Black and white technical drawing of East Asian timber architecture with detailed exploded view of structural components such as purlins, posts, beams, and brackets, along with labels and annotations.

Nine classic buildings trace the evolution of East Asian timber architecture, revealing a shared lineage of form, structure, and craft.

An architectural drawing of a traditional East Asian building in a courtyard with trees and people, with a clear sky and clouds in the background.

The anatomy of East Asian timber architecture—revealing how individual elements come together as an intricate structural system.

Open book showing a black and white photo of East Asian timber architecture on the left page and a technical drawing of a bracket system on the right page.

Section perspectives reveal the hidden beauty of timber architecture, bringing structure, space, and construction together in a single view.

A black and white architectural drawing of a pavilion with a curved wooden roof supported by columns, set against a landscape with trees, hills, and distant islands, labeled "The Pavilion of Floating Lights," located in Jinju, Korea, 2022.

Exploded drawings reveal how intricate joinery is assembled, making the hidden logic of timber construction visible.

Finally, the author’s own projects explore new possibilities for timber architecture by reimagining the principles of tradition.

Field Trips

Kon-do, Horyu-ji, 706

Guanyin-ge, Dule-si, 984

Shijia-ta, Fogong-si, 1056

Nandaimon, Todai-ji, 1203

Muryangsu-jeon, Biseok-sa, 14C

Entsu Sansodo, 1796

Palsang-jeon, Beopju-sa, 1624

Mireuk-jeon, Guemsan-sa, 1635