Paper short abstract:

To use timber in building and dwelling is as standard as diverse. Focusing on the decision for the material wood, on its processing and perception, this paper asks for coherences and fractions regarding the materialization, sensoriality and emotionality of home(-making).

Paper long abstract:

A house which is built without a piece of wood? Unthinkable, unusual. However, there are big differences in the use, expectation, and perception of timber used in construction and dwelling: Living in an interior with single wooden chairs or tables differs from the impression of an oaken wall unit or gooing for a solid wood external panelling. The choice of material we use in our homes is based on ecological, economic, haptic, historical, regional, technical and/or visual reasons. Furthermore its percipience alternates between roughness and smoothness, tradition and trend, cosiness and function, and unifies these criteria at the same time.

The paper deals with the sensoriality and emotionality of home(-making) by focussing on timber. Based on narrative interviews and media analysis it asks for preferences, decisions and practices. Therewith it tries to carve out exemplary characteristics in the cultural utilization and perception of wood.