Blockhaus structural systems represent a construction technology of ancient origins, which is widely used in practice also for the construction of modern buildings. Their basic features consist in the optimization of multiple interactions between timber logs offered by notches, simple carpentry joints and contact surfaces. Despite these basic assembling techniques, however, their structural behaviour is rather complex to describe, due to several mechanical and geometrical aspects. At the same time, current available standards for the design of timber structures do not provide analytical models for the appropriate verification of these structural systems. As a result, the capabilities of timber log-walls under specific loading and boundary conditions cannot be properly estimated. In this paper, preliminary results of ongoing research activity are presented and discussed for the buckling behaviour of Blockhaus timber walls under in-plane vertical loads. The final aim of this current research project is the development and proposal of analytical formulations of practical use for the buckling verification of vertically loaded log-walls having different mechanical and geometrical properties (e.g. log cross-section, size and location of openings, load eccentricities), as well as restraints (e.g. orthogonal walls, pillars, in-plane rigid diaphragms, etc.).
