Above left: The designers appraise the timber with the Benchmark team Above right: No.1 Common timber was donated by AHEC members
forest now exceeds harvest. That’s not just a waste but may adversely affect forest health. The dead trees can add to forest fire risk, and they also release their stored CO2
into
the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. “To maximise the potential of this natural resource, we need to reset our thinking on what is acceptable – learning to appreciate and utilise not just what are seen as the most pristine cuts, which are only a small percentage of overall production, instead learn to embrace a wider range of grades,” said AHEC European director David Venables. The first public outing for the No.1 Common project will be from June 18-20 at the Copenhagen edition of the Material Matters fair, a cross-media platform which provides material intelligence for architecture and design. Material Matters attracts architects, designers and the wider range of other specifiers from across Europe. It was previously held in London, but this year they are also taking it to Copenhagen’s annual 3daysofdesign design festival. For the event, AHEC challenged three designers to develop furniture using No.1 C timber. The brief was to highlight the beauty and performance potential of this sustainable grade, showcasing both its aesthetic appeal and the practical benefits of the material. Under the title ‘No.1 Common – the beauty of the overlooked’ the designers’ pieces are intended to make exhibition visitors question what quality means when it comes to natural materials.
“They are also intended to highlight how sustainable and thoughtful material selection can shape the future of our forests and our world,” said Mr Venables. “The aim is to demonstrate the shared power and responsibility that designers, industry leaders, and consumers have in prioritising environmentally conscious decisions, rather than simply following trends that don’t always respect the rhythms and needs of nature.”
The starting point for No.1 C was furniture
maker Benchmark, a long-standing partner on AHEC projects. Some years ago, it put red oak through its paces in its factory along with European and US white oak to assess their comparative performance. It subjected the wood to multiple manufacturing processes, from hi-tech machining to hand crafting and finishing. As a result, Benchmark now routinely uses red oak in its furniture and joinery fit outs.
For No.1 C the company did the same with No.1 C grade timber, using the species from which the project designers could choose; cherry, maple, red oak and yellow birch. “Benchmark pushed the technical boundaries of the timber and also explored the benefits of No.1 C in terms of labour efficiency and yield,” said AHEC director of communications Rocío Pérez-Íñigo. “They experimented with ways to incorporate knots, splits and strong grain and colour variations to create a more efficient use of the material and a potentially exciting new look. The results have been fed into the design process and will influence the final outcomes.” One of the designers, London-based Andu Masebo, is working on a ‘dining landscape’, a series of modular tables that can be configured in numerous ways. Meanwhile, Norway-based Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng is developing a series of lounge chairs, and the focus of industrial designer Daniel Schofield, originally from the UK, but now Copenhagen- based, is a communal space created with screens, tables and benches. Copenhagen is the ideal venue for these pieces to make their debut, said Ms Pérez-Íñigo.
“Denmark more widely and Copenhagen in particular are renowned for its design leadership and awareness,” she said. “We’re confident the exhibition will create a lot of buzz and impact.”
The designers’ pieces will feature in an interactive exhibition space created by KUFstudios of Denmark, built with raw
timber as part of the approach to make it a low-carbon exhibition. In the wood there will be peep holes, and openings through which visitors will see aspects of the US hardwood forest and timber and facts and figures. The latter includes the statistic that the standing timber in the US hardwood forest has increased from 5 billion m3 m3
to 12 billion in the last half century. That’s enough to
make 60 billion solid hardwood chairs, or to form a solid cube of wood 2.3km high, taller than five Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. Then there’s the fact for Danish exhibition visitors to put the US hardwood forest in perspective, that, at 117 million ha, it’s 27 times the size of Denmark. “We want it to be an experience of discovery, for visitors to go away with greater knowledge and interest, and we’re planning a series of activations about the forest, so there’s something different every day,” said Ms Pérez-Íñigo.
After the Copenhagen event, the designers’ work will be used to broadcast the No.1 C message at other events and venues around Europe – including, potentially, the UK. “We make all our projects repeatable,” said
Ms Pérez-Íñigo. “It’s good environmentally and also, after investing the time and budget, we want to give them more than one life.” She added that, while the focus of No.1 C may be US hardwoods, its message has relevance for the wider forest and timber sector.
“It’s about realising the full potential of timber as a natural material and seeing all the value and beauty of its natural characteristics,” she said. “It asks the question what do we want in wood. Do we want something that is processed to look like a non-natural material, without the colour variations, knots and other markings? Or do we want something that incorporates these supposed imperfections, embraces them and makes the most of what nature provides; a material that designers and manufacturers can use to create something unique and new.” ■
www.ttjonline.com | May/June 2025 | TTJ
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