2007 Western Conference

Conference Schedule Day By Day
Friday, April 13

OPENING FEATURED SPEAKER

Michael Anderson: Osamari & Apprenticeship: On the Face-to-Face Transmission of the Way
In the spring of 2001, I had the pleasure of addressing the Timber Framers Guild at their first Asilomar conference. My talk evolved from a single everyday word Japanese carpenters use to refer to the sense of fitness or correctness of joinery and detailing in their work. That word is osamari, meaning, at first glance, to be “settled” or “resolved.” Beneath these meanings, however, rests a far more profound recognition of what architecture and carpentry are capable of through their effects on human consciousness and the composure and comportment of the human body. Indeed, the kernel I was peeling was that these two effects — on the mind and on the body — are fundamentally the same. They are linked to specific conditions manifesting in the geometry, proportion and subtle hierarchies of the physical (rather than spatial) composition of architecture. I proposed that while I had come to this insight through the specifics of Japanese traditional architecture, the implications were in fact universal to all built forms.

This was the first time I had discussed these ideas before a non-Western audience. I recall being nervous covering some of this material, as some of the conclusions one may easily reach after thinking it through are, particularly in mainstream American design and construction circles, outright heretical, or, at the very least, politically indiscreet. Chief among these is the suggestion that our perception of beauty, that is, what first and most spontaneously draws us in to the built world, may in fact not be a mere matter of taste and opinion, but an open, objective, verifiable property of the structures themselves. Could it be that what we perceive as beautiful, as good osamari, is an unacknowledged yet real, objective aspect of a building’s structural integrity — as much a legitimate part of that integrity as, say, beam strength, material performance? If this is true, then it must be possible for a person to stand up and claim that particular buildings by particular builders are in fact beautiful, or as is more often the case, claim that they are not beautiful. And such claims would have to stand not as one person’s opinion but as fact.

Even imagining this possibility, let alone whether it is in fact tenable or not, is extremely discomforting for most of us. We seem to need the idea of a highly relativized, socially negotiable idea of beauty in order to relieve ourselves of the odiousness of judgment — of judging those who do not meet our own expectations of the beautiful and judgment of ourselves for failing to manifest it in our own work. The notion is and has been a highly effective means for avoiding conflict. The long result, however, is as insidious as it is subtly self-defeating, for we are untrue to ourselves whenever we lay claim to such a notion of beauty, however “democratic” it may seem at the time…as untrue to ourselves as when we politely concede “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

The fact is, all of us, in moments of quiet, sober, self-reflection, will intuit, if only dimly at first, a glowing inner reference point of complete stillness from which we can accurately perceive the nature of beauty. It is an awareness arising out of the body when still within itself, recognizing the same stillness present in certain kinds of structures out there in the world. This is osamari. It is also, though we may be only dimly aware of it, the condition inherent in much of Japanese architecture, which causes so many to be drawn to it with such awe, passion and delight. It is also the most difficult quality to manifest in one’s work if all he or she has mastered or been taught are the manners and techniques of the tradition. The reason for this enormous difficulty, I have come to believe, is that an understanding of osamari which runs deep enough to actually affect out work at a profound level, cannot be achieved through self- or book study, nor through the relatively casual instruction or apprenticeship characterizing most training today.

In the six years since speaking on osamari at the Asilomar conference, I have been able to teach and lecture on the concept for a variety of groups in Europe, Japan and the United States. While I have continued to be surprised with the response and openness to the ideas, I have grown wary of the manner in which others and I have been teaching young designers and builders. We have been transmitting technique and the various skill sets and baseworks of practical knowledge without transmitting the inner knowledge of to what ends these skills and techniques are to be aimed. And so, the transmission is incomplete. Its contemplative heart, its stillness is being left behind, or buried beneath secularized syllabi aimed at little more than instruction in technique and product delivery. And the responsibility for this shortfalling is not wholly the teachers. Students, too, can subvert the process.

What I have come to discover is that the transmission of this inner knowledge can itself be viewed as a form of osamari, that is, of a settling out, a movement out from and towards stillness. Just as the essence of osamari among the elements of built structure is to be found in the correct relationships among these parts, there is an osamari of the transmission of the way . . . and this transmission is accomplished through the bringing into a particular kind of relationship of teacher and student, master and apprentice.

This presentation will be divided into three parts. The first will revisit the concept of osamari and its significance in design, construction and our physico-emotional response to built structure. In the second part I will introduce some of the teaching methods and exercises I have developed for helping people perceive the presence (or lack) of osamari in their own work and environments. The lecture will conclude with a discussion of the traditional Japanese apprenticeship system and, and by extension, ways in which we might consider altering how we approach training in design and construction here in the West.

About the Speaker

Michael Anderson is an educator and architect based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His firm, Laughing Moon Design (www.laughingmoondesign.com), specializes in traditional and contemporary Japanese architecture. He holds masters degrees in the history and philosophy of architecture from Harvard and Cambridge University, where he also earned a doctorate in regional planning. Michael spent twelve years in Japan, where he apprenticed under master temple carpenter Katsuhiro Okumoto before forming Laughing Moon. He has lectured and taught courses on Japanese architecture and construction worldwide and is a frequent contributor to books and magazines on planning and design. He and his soon-to-be wife Beth Cohen make their home in Oakland, California.

Other Friday Presenters & Events

Bill Wachtler: SIPS Basics
The program covers the background, evolution and overview of the SIP industry including types of SIPs, market growth, SIP applications, and insights into planning, design, manufacturing, site preparation, energy performance research, and cost. Bill Wachtler is Executive Director, Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA).

Al Cobb: Advanced Tips and Techniques for Building with SIPS
Al Cobb is President, Panelwrights, LLC and Founder, SIP School. This program will cover tips and techniques for integrating SIPs into modern timber frame structures. Attendees will learn about the latest tools and techniques for installing SIPs and the interrelationship between SIPs and other systems such as HVAC within timber frame structures.

Al Wallace: HVAC & Indoor Air Quality: Integrated Systems for Timber Frames
Al will give a synopsis of his two-day pre-Conference Workshop, including practical considerations of heating and cooling timber frames and associated indoor air quality issues using alternative energy and integrated systems: geothermal heating and cooling (air and water systems), radiant floor, solar heating, wind, hydro, solar power generation). To do justice to subjects covered (rather than a 10,000 foot view of everything), I will cover lightly about 50% of what I discuss in the two-day session and will provide a comprehensive handout. We will look at actual systems in different stages of installation, as well as design criterion, practical tips, etc.

Matt Connorton: Project Management
Project management is an applied business science that has been used in the construction industry for many years. Until fairly recently it has been limited to large scale jobs, principally commercial and public works projects, but more and more companies large and small are finding good use for project management techniques.

The practice and application of project management techniques will benefit any job and provide high value for the time spent to incorporate them. Good project management will reap immediate practical benefits and also put the practitioner in a position to thoroughly close out a project in an orderly fashion.

The principal techniques of project management are as follows:
1. Establish a filing system to accommodate all project information and communications to be used as a reference while the project is underway and as a record once the project is complete.
2. Put in to practice a communication protocol and a tracking system for action items.
3. Meeting organization, including drafting and issuing agendas, meeting notes and action items lists.
4. Value engineering and cost control.
5. Scheduling and schedule adjustments.
6. Subcontract management and change order administration.
7. Consultant information management.
8. Plan and technical information management and control.
There are many more areas that project management techniques can provide benefit but these are the most common areas of application.

Matt will spend approximately ten minutes on each of the above subjects and will be happy to hold a group discussion afterwards.

Matt Connorton has worked with wood since childhood, professionally since the age of fifteen. Though he has not been trained through an apprentice program he has had the privilege of the teachings of a great number of Master Craftspeople, largely due to his (sometimes impolite) insistence. He has built and renovated houses, built and repaired wooden boats, repaired staircases, and made furniture. His techniques have evolved over time and continue to evolve as he is exposed to different disciplines and styles. He has been directly involved in handcraft all of his life and most recently have enjoyed matching craftsmanship with communication skills in the interest of furthering the art of building. Matt moved to California from Newburyport, Mass. in 2000, and lives with his eight-year-old son Jake in Napa Valley.

Maureen Blackwell: What Kind of Leader Are You?
We are all leaders and demonstrate leadership — whether we manage a large organization, run our own business, or are part of a work team. Enhancing your leadership skills — especially your coaching skills — can improve your performance as a leader and help you support your team more effectively. Working effectively as a team is critical to your business success. Through a combination of lecture (PowerPoint presentation) and interactive exercises, you will learn how to improve your coaching leadership skills to enhance team performance.

Participants will learn about different leadership skills, when each style is most appropriately used, what makes an ideal leader, and how to enhance your coaching leadership skills to improve team performance.

Maureen Blackwell brings 25 years of corporate leadership and training experience to her work as a personal and business coach. She is a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute, certified to teach the Enneagram in Business, and is a member of the International Coaches Federation and the International Enneagram Association. During her 25+ year tenure at IBM, she held management positions in product planning, manufacturing and development, finance, marketing, human resources and training. In her most recent leadership position with IBM, Maureen led an organization of over 100 employees, who were responsible for the delivery of training services on IBM hardware and software to customers in the United States.

Jeff Arvin: Veteran Voices, The Making of an Industry

From garages, droplights and resurrected antique chisels to computers, health insurance and asset-liability ratios, the timber frame industry has grown and matured. It had to. Where once we were given extraordinary slack because of the new and groundbreaking work of the early timber framers, we are now faced with requirements for fully engineered frames and professionally executed contracts. We’ve learned that turnover has a cost to quality and bottom line, and indeed we’ve even learned what a bottom line actually is.

Veteran Voices is a series of seminars given by timber frame company owners or managers with more than 15 and even 20+ years on the job, as a way to share their experiences, tricks, heartbreaks and victories. In recent talks by Tedd Benson, Jonathan Orpin and John Abrams, it was clear that many in the audience enjoyed the discussion of their history and their roots. Whether to benchmark our own progress, re-invigorate our efforts or simply re-focus on our successes, it’s natural to do so in discussions with our peers and our predecessors.

The seminar will be presented roughly in three parts: a narrative of the speaker’s company, a specific management system or skill to share, and a final time of open discussion as a group. Whether your own company is small or larger, growth-oriented or comfortable, this is an opportunity to share a laugh, learn a trick, and ask a question.

Jeff Arvin says when he started timber framing he had hair and his hair had pigment. Click here to see a few photos of Jeff’s appearance on This Old House back in 1989. A "big picture" kind of guy, Jeff has been the president of the Timber Framers Guild and was the founding chairman of the Timber Frame Business Council. Jeff enjoys working with clients to develop beautiful timber buildings. He is also rumored to be working on a book on contemporary timber frame practice to be published in the fall of 2007.

Lloyd Kahn: Counter-Cultural Revolution: Natural Building Evolution in America
Lloyd Kahn discusses the evolution of natural building in North America over the past 40 years. From his vantage point as the author of Shelter and as an eyewitness to the cultural revolution that centered in San Francisco in the 1960s, he describes the effect those times had not only on natural building, but on many other aspects of society and culture as well.

Lloyd Kahn got started as an owner-builder in the 1960s. His early experiences included post and beam, geodesic domes, and stud-frame construction. He has produced several books on building and the home arts, including Shelter (1973, Home Work: Hand-Built Shelter (2005), and The Septic System Owner’s Manual (wiht Blair Allen & Julie Jones, Revised 2007). Visit Lloyd’s website at www.shelterpub.com.

Marisha Farnsworth & Kevin Rowell: Bamboo — It’s Not Just for Pandas Anymore
Topics include the biology and cultivation of bamboo, along with sustainable harvesting, preservation, processing and products made from bamboo. There will also be an overview of joinery for buildings, furniture, scaffolds, and airplanes made from the world’s largest grass.

Kevin Rowell is co-director of Kleiwerks International and co-owner with Marisha Farnsworth of the Natural Builders, a design/build contracting company. Kevin promotes sustainable living through local organic food production and simple methods of providing housing. Marisha Farnsworth teaches classes on natural building with an emphasis on community-based projects.

Kleiworks is a member of the Natural Building Network, a member-supported non-profit organization that includes Natural Building news, information on workshops, builders, contractors, designers, architects, publications, and other resources. Connect with the Natural Building community! Join today and receive a free issue of CobWeb or the Last Straw Journal. www.naturalbuildingnetwork.org

Jack Stephens: How Your Buildings Can Be Sexier, Healthier and Save Civilization
Natural Building offers real solutions to the global problems of climate change, fresh water access, natural resource depletion and human rights abuses. Discover simple solutions you can apply to make your buildings safer, healthier and sustainable for yourselves, your clients and the global community.

Since 1987, Jack Stephens has worked as a corporate business consultant and leadership developer. His clients have included organic farms and manufacturers, intentional communities, and natural building companies. Shifting his focus to sustainability in 1998, he is currently executive director of the Natural Building Network, a worldwide resource for natural building.

Jay van Arsdale: Nokogiri: Tools Designed for All the Right Reasons
Much more sophisticated and specialized than their Western counterparts, Japanese handsaws offer a wide range of options for cutting wood. The most commonly used is the ryoba, a two-sided blade, toothed with cross-cut on one side and rip teeth on the other. This saw is made in many sizes, teeth profiles, and wide range of quality (and price). Starting from the rudimentary Chinese bow saws, the Japanese saw makers from the earliest times have transformed this tool into unsurpassed cutting efficiency. From early leaf saws with thorn teeth into the later innovations of edo-mae style tooth patterns, the pull of the Japanese saw over the centuries has led to the many productive and very serviceable options available today.

This session will highlight and discuss some of the historical steps from the hot work (the making by the blacksmith) and the cold work (set-ups by the saw sharpener or metate) to some practical and helpful tips for the successful use and care of this unique contribution to woodworking.

Mike Laine: Japanese Planes & Sharpening
Mike intends to take a brand new, apprentice plane off the shelf, and go through all of the steps necessary to make it behave elegantly. This will include, but not be limited to, a careful inspection of all parts of the tool, pointing out why it is not ready to use off the shelf, a step by step demonstration of all of the moves required to refine the tool from its shelf state to a functioning plane, including all of the accessory items needed to do the job. In 90 minutes, the plane will be transformed from an ugly duckling to an elegant swan. The process will include preparing and sharpening the chipbreaker and the main blade, fitting the blade to the body, and adjusting the sole for taking fine shavings. Japanese Woodworking Tools, Their Tradition, Spirit, and Use, by Toshio Odate, is recommended reading for this seminar.

Mike Laine is one of the coordinators for our pre-Conference Japanese Timber Framing workshop, and has many years experience working on projects with this style of carpentry. This is an introductory seminar for those wanting to make the leap to Japanese tools.

Jay van Arsdale: Doing the Work of Joinery
This talk and demonstration will offer an overview of the joinery used in traditional wooden structures, both large and small, throughout the world. With special emphasis on basic simple hand tools — hammers, chisels, and saws — this approach offers a systematic organization and working explanation to creating the basic shape that become what joinery is. By using the reductive processes and functions, these tools have evolved to produce. By developing the five skill sets these tools provide — splitting, mortising, paring, crosscutting and rip cutting — people doing joinery can make their work more accurate, efficient, appropriate and elegant.

Jay van Arsdale apprenticed early on with his father and grandfather in his family’s blacksmith shop in Kentucky. After graduating from Centre College (Danville, Kentucky) in 1970, he came to the Bay Area where he attended Mills College in Oakland, (MFA in Art, 1972). He was inspired to become involved with Japanese woodworking in the mid-1970s after seeing a demonstration by Japanese Daiku Makoto Imai (one of our demonstrators on Saturday), who he learned from for a number of years. Jay has worked and taught in the Bay Area since the early 1980s. He has given demos/lectures and other presentations for many organizations, including the Japan Society, San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Exploratorium, Academy of Science, and the UC Berkeley School of Architecture. Jay is the author of Shoji, Designing, Building, and Installing Japanese Screens (Kodansha, 1986); Introduction to Japanese Woodworking (video, 1987); and contributing editor on the Complete Japanese Joinery (Hartley & Marks, 1990). He has also written numerous magazine articles and appeared on Japanese and U.S. TV. He is a licensed building contractor who lives with his wife and daughter in a bamboo grove in Oakland. Jay currently teaches "Traditional Japanese Hand Tool" and "Joinery" at Laney College in Oakland and at the Arques Boat School in Sausalito.

Slide Show: Be a presenter! Share your experiences, your problems and your work on Friday night. Everyone’s work is welcome at this Conference highlight. Bring ten of your favorite slides (or better yet, send a CD in advance with electronic images) related to your work in timber framing to share on Friday night. Further details will be included with your registration confirmation. Randy Churchill is coordinateing the Show.

Trade Fair Mixer/Reception

CNC Users Group Meeting

Children’s Discovery Workshop will commence.