Timber Frame Design in Maine Utilizing Sacred Geometry

Check out this timber frame design for a timber house in Maine using sacred geometry. In this instance the Golden Section and Fibonacci Series which will become the basis of our client’s home design.

The Golden Section will be used to define the building proportions: scale of massing elements, room layout, height and width, even door layout and size. In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in proportion if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger is the same as the ratio between the larger and the smaller. Examples of architecture utilizing the Golden Section are common throughout history, examples such as the Parthenon and the Great Pyramids are most notable. In Art, a great debate still exists as to whether or not Leonardo da Vinci proportioned his paintings according to the golden ratio while creating the Mona Lisa and De Divina Proportione.

Additionally, the Fibonacci Series will determine proportions of the building elements. The intersecting mirrored Fibonacci spiral design will become the anchor element seen throughout the home, as in the stair balusters, trim details, and floor patterns. The Golden Spiral below is created using tangential arcs within adjacent squares of the golden rectangle.

If you take one point, and then a second point one-quarter of a turn away from it, the second point is PHI times farther from the center than the first point. The spiral increases by a factor of PHI or 1.618.

With the completion of the preliminary design, we are beginning the design development phase of this 2100 square foot home. Western Cedar has been specified for the timber frame which will be hand crafted and assembled by a local timber framer.

Our client requested incorporating many sustainable energy systems into the home, such as an Insulated Concrete Foundation (ICF), evacuated tubes on the south facing portions of the home for domestic hot water and heating, Structural insulated panels for the walls and roof which will surround the timber frame, a greenhouse in which they will grow many organic vegetables, and a root cellar in a portion of the basement.

Floor plans will be posted soon. Keep your eye on our current green home designs and timber homes!