Juniper wall shed

After having hauled ridiculous amounts of building materials up to my no-road-access piece of dark, boggy land I have vowed to only build with stuff that grows up here in the first place. I will probably cop out of that one, I admit, but I have nevertheless become obsessed with traditional building methods.

Here's a shed I found at the local open air museum, which will be impossible for me to recreate because I a) don't have slate for the roof, b) don't have juniper for the walls and c) will never get around to finding lumber that is bent just so.

Still, it's an intriguing technique. The walls are made by thatching juniper branches, and the result is an oily kind of vegetable fur that lets air flow in and out, yet protects whatever is inside from rain.

The method is known as "brakje" and making walls like this is a dying skill. I have found very little written information about it.

Note how no nails have been used, only mortises, tenons and pegs.