THE JOURNAL
WOOD WORKS An innovative design exhibition demonstrated what’s good for the business of design can also be good for the planet
It is said that from crisis comes great creativity. Connected, an exhibition of contemporary furniture, was an exciting addition to the magnificent Design Avenue. The collaborative project began life in lockdown, when the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Benchmark Furniture and the Design Museum challenged nine renowned designers to create pieces for their own use, to suit their new ways of living and working from home. An impressive rollcall of international names participated including Heatherwick Studio (UK), Jaime Hayon (Spain), Ini Archibong (Switzerland), Sabine Marcelis (Netherlands), Maria Bruun (Denmark), Sebastian Herkner (Germany), Maria
Jeglinska- Adamczewska the communication and video (Poland), Studiopepe
(Italy) and Studio Swine (UK / Japan). With
designers relying solely on digital conferencing, Connected
revealed what extraordinary results can be achieved when designers and makers work together, even at a distance. Each responded in a unique and highly personal way, from Sabine Marcelis’ practical, fold-away cubicle with a shot of colour hidden within to Jaime Hayon’s Swiss-army-knife- inspired multifunctional table. Their experimental approaches to furniture design
had sustainability as a uniting principle. With a better- than-carbon-neutral footprint overall, they demonstrated the positive
impact of using American hardwoods,
and reflected the growing groundswell in interiors for environmental merits and the impact of material choices. The project presented three beautiful and underused timbers – American red oak, cherry and maple. They grow abundantly and make up 30% of the American hardwood forest and all contribute to its diversity. Another key objective was to ensure that the products were demonstrably sustainable. When considered as a group, the nine Connected designs were better than carbon neutral. The total global warming potential (GWP) – often referred as the “carbon footprint” – is minus 342 kg of CO2 equivalent. Carbon neutrality is achieved as the carbon stored in the wood used for the designs, together with a small offset due to use of process waste for energy production, exceeds all carbon emissions during the extraction, processing and transport of raw materials, manufacturing at Benchmark, and delivery of the finished designs. Claire German, managing director of the Design Centre
says: “We support creative expression across the design agenda, and we were delighted to host Connected featuring original work by leading designers and makers. Bursting with new perspectives, these collaborative partnerships during lockdown resulted in extraordinary designs of enduring beauty and quality. Meticulous care, craftsmanship and respect for wood as a sustainable material has never been more relevant.”
TIMBER TIMES AHEC has produced its Guide to
Sustainable American Hardwoods, a free book that acts as an in-depth guide for anyone who works with timber in the architecture and design industries. The guide is arranged by species, but also features case studies that bring to life
the beauty and versatility of each timber, such as Ian Ritchie Architects’ Susie
Sainsbury Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music, lined with cherry wood to
deliver outstanding quality of sound, and Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Oldham, designed by architects dRMM, the world’s first building made from hardwood cross-laminated timber (CLT). Sections
on sustainability, grading and timbers’ use in furniture in product design present a 360-degree view.
Download the guide at
www.americanhardwood.org/
In the Design Avenue, Ini Archibong has taken visual cues from the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland for his ‘Kadama Gate’ table and benches. The craggy base is made from American cherry wood and red oak cut into varying shapes and heights. He wanted it to appear as if reaching from the core of the earth to the sky
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