I am interested, Ken, in hearing about your perspective of the so-called open frame because I am not used to this method of construction.

I see timber frames built in the US as large open frameworks with light framing partitions added, or in many cases what I would consider to be unreasonably large open spaces. This stands in sharp contrast to the framing methods I have learned, where the frame itself is divided and partitioned. Also these buildings are thorough tied together with a multitude of intersecting frameworks. In our customs, even buildings built for strictly agricultural purposes are often subdivided with closed frameworks.

I suspect your reasons for disliking open frames are similar to what makes me uneasy about these structures -blown joints like shown above.