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English translation: bois et de conception récente
19:42 Sep 1, 2010
French to English translations [PRO] Architecture / description of a 19th-century house
French term or phrase:bois de conception récente
La maison, toute en longueur, est construite sur un mince solin en brique pleines ou en gaize, pierre locale ; le corps du bâtiment est entièrement en ******bois de conception récente******.
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Describing typical Lorraine architecture, these are OLD half-timbered houses. Which rules out anything connected with modern design - which is how I initially interpreted "conception récente", and which would make absolutely no sense in this context of historical buildings.
The bâtiment in question is the house, as opposed to the adjoining farm/barn building, which is described in the rest of the paragraph.
All I can think is that "bois de conception récente" is a particular type of wood... but what?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated - many thanks!
I've only just heard from the end client that "conception" should read "restauration" - which makes this very hard indeed to have graded, I suppose in effect, an "erroneous question". However, I see that this has been done automatically for me, thereby saving me much soul searching! Whichever answer I would have selected, I feel it is right that this is not entered into the Glossary. Once again, many thanks to all!
+ 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40 is the contact number on the article with the photo of the house which I think is that kind of house, maybe you should call and ask ..
'maison à pan de bois' means timbered house, so maybe that is the wood being referred to. Looking at the photo the wood is on the outside of the house.
It's not the bois that is "de conception récente". I took a swift look at the ghits and came up with the likes of: "Les maisons bois de conception récente permettent de maintenir la chaleur à l'extérieur l'été et de la conserver à l'intérieur l'hiver. ..." "Les poêles à bûches de bois de conception récente ont des rendements supérieurs à 60%, surpassant nettement les plus anciens. ..." "... est construite sur un mince solin en brique pleines ou en gaize, pierre locale ; le corps du bâtiment est entièrement en bois de conception récente. ..." In each case, the words in italics are what I understand to be "de conception récente". (NB many of the ghits were duplicates or rather multiplicates to coin a word.)
I'm still mulling over the possibility that it's a type of timber: softwood v. hardwood; pine v. oak... Anyway, hopefully the client will be able to explain!
I have indeed referred this to the client, and will certainly let you know what the outcome is! Have to admit, it just doesn't make sense to me, which is why I was so hoping that this was some mysterious timber - perhaps some method of treating it or producing it... The annoying thing is that the phrase does get so many g-hits. Obviously a certain number of them refer to modern buildings, yet in a good many of them it's not so clear cut - just as in this context. However, we all know the dangers of relying on the Internet, and maybe this is a prime example... :(
Having read the phrase in context on the site, I think it would make most sense if there were a "plus" missing: "corps de bâtiment en bois, de conception plus récente"i.e. 19th century rather than 14th-16th as per the houses in the preceding paragraph. Conclusion - check with client!
As per my note to Phil, I read it as meaning that the type of timber construction was new at the time of building (rather than now), so it was innovative in its time. Phil, however does not understand it that way. As what is concerned is the "corps du bâtiment", i.e. the main structure of the building, if that were modern, not much would be left of any original structure. So, I think that unless it means that the "corps du bâtiment" was innovative at the time it was built, in the 19th century, there could be an error in the original text.
I have no idea if the interior has been renovated with a contemporary design, but, as these are examples of historical buildings, this seems unlikely to me. I should also have explained that this is a tourism context (historical heritage/architecture), and not the property market. Sorry, I thought I'd provided masses of context, but appear to have failed miserably on that score :(
that the interior has not been totally renovated with a contemporary design in wood?
Its not a type of wood but the term "récente" could simply be relative.
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
4 mins confidence:
recently produced wood
Explanation: Or recently processed wood (as opposed to recovered beams and timber).
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 15 mins (2010-09-01 19:58:08 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Carol, when I read it this is how I understood it. The wood is of conception récente, not the design. But it does seem an odd choice of word to describe the wood.
Mark Hamlen France Local time: 07:10 Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks Mark, for helping out, and so speedily! I hope you don't mind me asking if this is an inspired guess, or do you know this for a fact? It's just that, given my ignorance on the subject, some links or something to back this up would be even more helpful. Sorry, I should perhaps have mentioned this in the first place!
Asker: that's how I understood it, too. There are in fact quite a lot of examples of it to be found, but none in bilingual sites, and none that explain what it could be in the context of historical buildings - as far as I've been able to ascertain so far!
Explanation: I think the word "et" has been left out by mistake. The barn is old, but the house is new.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 24 mins (2010-09-01 20:06:59 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Wood can't be "de conception récente", but a house can.
philgoddard United States Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 72
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Notes to answerer
Asker: many thanks Phil for weighing in! My problem (and has been all along) is that these are supposedly historical buildings dating to the 19th century, extolled as examples of typical local architecture for tourists to visit! I'm finding this hard to reconcile with anything new or modern... :(
