- Timber is having a renaissance as an architectural material, as more architects come to understand its properties, and enjoy adding it to their repertoire of materials. With a growing crop of good new timber buildings, architects are coming to realize that this is no longer the sole preserve of the traditionalist, but a material that has an important role to play in the contemporary world. The book"s introduction examines the ways in which a raw material of diminishing quality (but abundant quantity) can be "stretched" to perform as it has never done before using new technology and careful detailing. The 40 case studies are devoted to some of the most interesting new wood projects from around the world. Featured architects include Steven Holl, Foster + Partners, Rural Studio, Renzo Piano and Shigeru Ban.