2026 Graduation Project 'Square Timber Pin-Kado' by Yuki Mino — IDREIT®

The square timber we commonly see.

Most serve as pillars or structural supports in buildings, quietly holding up walls from within. Yet within its neat appearance, composed of straight lines and right angles, lies an inherent beauty too precious to conceal as mere structural material. This research liberates square timber from its structural confines, attempting to extend its appeal into spatial design. Without compromising its quintessential character, it introduces “movement” through geometric manipulation, proposing new possibilities for this static material.

Specifically, by cutting square timber at 45-degree or 90-degree angles and rotating it using metal fittings, new expressions are created for wooden columns. By adjusting thickness and width and designing the rotation surface to be square, the mechanism ensures the wood's corners align beautifully regardless of the bending angle. In architectural terminology, “Pin-Kado” typically refers to a sharply pointed wood corner or a joint where corners meet on the same plane. In contrast, this work, “Angled Timber Pinkaido,” devises a mechanism that allows three-dimensional unfolding while changing angles around a central axis. This enables the timber to possess movement within space while always maintaining a refined and beautiful presence.

This “Square Timber Pin-Kado” grants freedom to previously static material, expanding the timber's functionality. This research also attempts to re-examine the rich territory between the “pre-processed” state of the material and its “post-processed” state with assigned function. Retaining the original form (pre-processed) while applying minimal intervention (post-processed). By designing this “intermediate” state, we aim to present a new way of being for square timber where the material's simplicity and the product's functionality coexist.