Reclaimed western redcedar was also used at the Yale School of Art Gallery. Located at the end of a row of two-story 19th century houses, the school is a taut wood box with side walls that subtly bow out, scaled to fit the New Haven streetscape. The exterior wall is a ventilated wood rain screen made of horizontal strips of reclaimed western redcedar beveled on the top and bottom edges to divert water to drain to the outside. The strips are spaced 1/8 inch apart for air circulation, allowing the cladding to expand when wet and dry evenly on both sides. This layered wall construction creates a lattice-like scrim at the entry and a pattern of parted planes at the corners of the building. The gallery entrance is set within a recessed glass enclosure along the north end of the building, where an open screen of spaced western redcedar slats is suspended veil-like from the roof.

KieranTimberlake used reclaimed wood from century-old wine casks to boost the sustainability quotient at two award-winning projects. Top: Sidwell Friends Middle School Bottom:The gallery at the Yale University School of Art Photos: KieranTimberlake

 

The firm's research states that western redcedar is "a dimensionally stable ‘small movement,' and highly weather resistant wood. Its characteristics have made it the most popular wood for cladding in North America over several centuries." According to Chris Macneal, Senior Associate at KieranTimberlake, the main issue with western redcedar was how it would weather. Western redcedar, Macneal says, has an attractive weathering progression from its fresh-cut red-brown through to silver gray that is dependent on its exposure to sunlight, rain, condensation, and whether it's protected by an overhang- factors that were extensively discussed with clients on both projects. "A lot can be done through careful detailing of the façade to make weathering as uniform as possible," says Macneal, noting that generally the better ventilated the cedar, the more uniform the weathering.

Presupposing predictable appearance and careful detailing, KieranTimberlake's life cycle thinking supported the decision to go with untreated cedar cladding. "In widths we were applying the western redcedar, 3/4 and 5/4 inches, and with little or no maintenance, we anticipate an 80-year solution," says Macneal. "That's very good for wood cladding."