To the Editor:
As an architect who relishes any opportunity to work timber-frame into his projects, I’m appreciative of the care that goes into planning and detailing this form of construction.

Carving giant timbers so they fit perfectly, act together to span large spaces and take on such exquisite overall shapes, is in a realm far from the ordinary world of slapping up 2x6 walls, TJI floor systems, and lumberyard roof trusses.

Timber construction is literally an organic process in which humans collaborate with plants. In my opinion, there is no better way to honor a tree than to memorialize its strength and beauty inside a structure.

These old barns that are being taken down in the Hilltowns and elsewhere in the Hudson Valley might as well have grown where they have stood for 200 years! [“Dutch barn being relocated, leaving behind only its written history,” The Altamont Enterprise, Jan. 8, 2024]

The old barns tell an important story about economics, ingenuity, beauty, and the survival of our forefathers; they belong to the region and its people. They have outlasted their builders and should remain to help us remember them.

Tax credits notwithstanding, we will be losing most of the remaining barns if more isn’t done [“Conversing with our history enriches our future,” The Altamont Enterprise, Jan. 10, 2024]. 

Historical tax credits are typically great motivators for renovating and saving old buildings, but when the buildings are so eminently deconstructible and portable, and hedge fund billionaires so plentiful, saving a few bucks on a tax bill is paltry compared to the apparently bottomless prices people will be paying to have their very own historical barn as an office or entertainment space.

Laws should be passed prohibiting historical timber barns from moving out of the area. If maintaining a barn becomes a financial hardship, perhaps public/private partnerships can be formed so that a barn can be rented out for social or educational functions, or grants appropriated to purchase the barns and relocate them short distances for the public to enjoy.

Scott Wallant, AIA

Wallant Architecture

Feura Bush