Wood Utilization Patterns Concerning Vernacular Architecture and Furniture in Vâlcea, Sibiu and Buzau Counties

• Main Author: Biborka BARTHA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura Universitatii Transilvania din Brasov 2014-03-01
• Series: Pro Ligno
• Online Access: http://www.proligno.ro/en/articles/2014/1/bartha_final.pdf

Wood can be considered one of the first building materials. So far, it has had a constant and varied utilization concerning built environment with or without a structural role. This aspect is mainly the result of the spread of the wooden material as species around the world, but also due to a series of qualities like: easy processing, light weight and good mechanical characteristics. Even if it can be characterized by a high perish ability linked to multiple factors like vulnerability to fire, it still has a wide utilization range in the present. The main theme of this paper discusses the wooden species utilized in vernacular architecture and furniture and their destination in traditional wooden housing, in a synthetic manner, structuring information in special tables. The role of these tables would be to reflect through a visual method the wood utilization patterns and the variety of wooden species existing in the three analyzed areas: Vâlcea, Sibiu and Buzău Counties. In this way, it is possible to observe evident connections between the structural and spatial evolution of the vernacular house (mainly due to the shift of functional or specific needs) and the utilization patterns of local wooden material that contributed to this architectural, functional and stylistic diversity.