Wood In Architecture Issue 1, 2018

MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY
There is much discussion as to why red
oak is named as it is. Some say because
the leaves turn red in the fall, rather than
brown as in white oak. Others suggest that
the wood has a reddish nge, although that is
oen not the case. Lincoln* describes red oak
as ranging from biscuit coloured to pink. What
is absolutely sure is that its name has nothing to
do with red wine, for only white oak is suitable
for barrel-making! American red oak is highly
suitable for a whole range of other applicaons
from ooring to furniture, cabinets to coee
tables and every type of joinery from doors to
decorave panels. But many of today’s furniture
makers and interior joinery manufacturers,
especially in Asia, remain unfamiliar with this
oak, one of the most sustainable and available
of all temperate hardwoods.
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
American red oak is a true Quercus, mainly
Quercus rubra Northern red oak and Quercus
falcata Southern red oak, but there are many
other sub species of red oak in North America
such as Spanish oak, cherrybark oak and
shummard oak. They all exhibit much the same
technical and working properes but, as with
most U.S. hardwoods, they can vary in colour
and grain from region to region.
The percentage of heartwood in red oak
is relatively large particularly in northern
grown material. Northern and southern is not
dierenated by merchants. So as usual when
specifying American hardwoods it is best to
research your source, if physical properes are
more important than visual aesthecs. Most
hardwood importers and distributors are wellversed
in their dierent characteriscs.
a) 707 kg/m 3 b) 707 kg/m 3
10.8% (Green to 6% M.C.)
a) 12,549 MPa b) 15,721 MPa
a) 5,738 N b) 6,583 N
a) Quercus rubra b) Quercus falcate
Northern
Southern
Interior staircase in Bloomberg London's new office
Photo credit: Foster + Partners and James Newton
WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE • ISSUE 1 • 2018
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