Using old timber from other demolished buildings and including them in newly built contemporary houses is an attempt not only to be true to concepts of sustainability but is an exploration into the idea of how even materials that are old carry some kind of feeling.
The smell of old timber, varied sizes and forms, the stains of paint, rusted nails and holes developed through usage or weathering immediately indicate a history. A viewer can only but wonder about the past and the path the material took to reach where it presently is. These intricacies of the past will never be revealed to us but the physical ‘anomalies’ can take us to another time and suddenly arouse feelings linked to our own pasts.
These feeling cannot be achieved by using new timber. Though we cannot physically comprehend how these feeling have traveled through time to reach us, we cannot deny their existence. Since contemporary houses tend to give a cold feeling, materials with a history can bring substance to the spaces.
