Timber iQ October / November 2021 | Page 27

FEATURE
that , together with greater awareness of building materials and their impacts , growing trends in digital technologies have allowed for a circular economy in the built environment through greater productivity , efficiency , process improvements , and enhanced collaboration . Examples include BIM software , virtual reality ( VR ), drone technologies and new digital tools that improve tracking of material flows .
The junction between technology and ancient techniques , between recently created concepts and observations of nature , seem to be the best way to a sustainable future and a reconciliation with nature , of which human beings are a part and in which we are active agents of change . This includes understanding the materials and processes that make up the entire life of the construction , which will help us make more coherent and correct decisions guided by sustainability and responsible design .
DESIGN FOR DECONSTRUCTION : A CONCEPT STEEPED IN HISTORY
CREATIVE COMMONS
Ise Grand Shrine ’ s buildings are constructed in what is known as the yuitsu-shinmei-zukuri style , a type of architecture that incorporates building elements common in Japan before Buddhism was introduced to the country via the Silk Road .
At the core of the Japanese Shikinen Sengu ceremony is the ritual of re-building two parts of the Jingu Shrine , Naiku ( the inner shrine ) and Geku ( the outer shrine ) which are both constructed almost exclusively from Japanese cypress .
The first Shikinen Sengu ( shrine reconstruction ceremony ) was held in the year 690 , in the city of Ise , Mie Prefecture , Japan . It consists of a set of ceremonies lasting up to 8 years , beginning with the ritual of cutting down trees for the construction of the new Ise Shrine and concluding with the moving of the sacred mirror ( a symbol of Amaterasu-Omikami ) to the new shrine by Jingu priests .
Every 20 years , a new divine palace with the same dimensions as the current one is built on a lot adjacent to the main sanctuary . Shikinen Sengu is linked to the Shinto belief in the periodic death and renewal of the universe , while being a way of passing on the ancient wood construction techniques from generation to generation .
The grand shrine requires about 8 500 cubic metres of wood , and in 1922 a 200-year tree planting project was begun at Ise . The first wood from this programme was used in the 62nd renewal of the shrine , completed in 2014 . Wood from the old shrine is recycled to help renew other , lesser shrines : the last time this was done some 169 shrines benefitted from the recycled wood .
REFERENCES :
1 . Souza , Eduardo . " There is Life After Demolition : Mass Timber , Circularity and Designing for Deconstruction " [ Há vida após a demolição : madeira engenheirada , circularidade e projeto para a desconstrução ] 27 Jul 2021 . ArchDaily . Accessed 26 Aug 2021 . < https :// www . archdaily . com / 963070 / we-must-think-about-the- future-of-buildings-after-demolition-mass-timber-circularity-and- designing-for-deconstruction > ISSN 0719-8884 .
2 . Rethinking the Future ( RTF ): https :// www . re-thinkingthefuture . com / rtf-fresh-perspectives / a973-designing-for-deconstruction /.
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