cordwood redux
Principle Investigator - Alex TimmerAssistant - Felipe Paez
Redux refers to the bringing back or restoration of an object of study. In cordwood redux, a version of the traditional cordwood construction or firewood stacking is reconstituted through composite Portland cement and waste wood logs. This research is organized by each log’s environmental impact, with the wood waste constituting a sequestering of carbon and the cement constituting an expenditure of carbon. The variable mixtures result in a gradation of color, tone, texture and compressive strength as a result of the cement content. Due to the variable sizes of each cylinder, density is used as a common denominator. Each cylinder has the same amount of Portland cement, but the type of wood waste changes. Based on these changes we are able to develop a relationship between embodied carbon (accounting for biogenic carbon sequestration) and strength.