Wood

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in Rooms

      Mattaforma considers “plants as clients” for Public Records outdoor space

      by

      Local design studio Mattaforma has created a plant nursery and community space for Public Records, a music venue and restaurant space in Brooklyn.

      The Nursery at Public Records sits in an outdoor space adjacent to the Gowanus institution’s other programming, a vegan cafe, club and listening lounge. It serves as a nursery for plants and as an outdoor music venue.
      Public Records expanded its programming to an adjacent empty lot, adding a DJ booth and plantsThe team at Public Records wanted to turn the adjacent, empty lot into a functioning space.
      To do so while limiting new construction, the team took advantage of several storage units already on the site, positioning them as both separators and inhabitable spaces for both humans and plants.
      Mattaforma created a system of wooden trusses to shelter the plants and equipment”The brief was an over winter nursery for their garden plant collection, as well as a community space that people could enjoy and learn about plants,” Mattaforma co-founder Lindsey Wilkstrom told Dezeen.

      “With this in mind, we focused first on designing a space that relied solely on passive heating in the winter, treating the plants as our clients first, then adapting a plant-oriented space towards humans as our secondary clients.”
      The trusses are lined with polycarbonate panelsTo house the plants, Mattaforma installed wooden pratt trusses lined with polycarbonate panels.
      The trusses were made on-site out of Microllam R laminated-veneer lumber (LVL), a manufactured wood that combines micro-layers of different kinds of woods like fir and larch.
      The space is meant to hold plants year-roundAccording to Wilkstrom, the material was chosen for its durability and also its manufacturer, Weyerhaeuser.
      “[It’s] the first American timber company to call for regenerative forest stewardship over 100 years ago and who still maintains today some of the highest ethical standards in their replanting initiatives, meeting SFI certification and transparency in their evolving ESG performance metrics,” said Wilkstrom of the company.
      Vents were included in the trusses to allow for passive cooling during the summer months. The trusses also extend out over the sound system and DJ booth to celebrate the DJ booth “like an altar”.

      RSDA repurposes shipping containers to form home on Indian farm

      Public Records also created the sound system for The Nursery, working with audio engineer Devon Ojas and manufacturer NNNN to develop a custom system that includes two blue-green and black speakers.
      In addition, the team brought in engineering firm Arup to advise on the acoustics of the space and New York-based Cactus Store to supply additional vegetation for the site.
      Besides the plants within the containers, trees and a grove of bamboo were installed around the concrete dance floor.
      Sustainable timber was used for the trusses”The Nursery is intended to be an ecological/urban intervention that serves to bring people and plants together, in reaction to the challenge of re-imagining an asphalt parking lot,” said Public Records, which was founded by Shane Davis and Francis Harris and has existed on the north end of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal since 2017.
      The once-industrial areas of Brooklyn have seen a variety of art and culture institutions moving in past years. Recently, a derelict powerplant, once known for its graffiti culture, was renovated by Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron into an arts centre.
      Elsewhere in the borough, Ennead Architects and Rockwell Group converted a 19th-century train warehouse into a headquarters for a charitable organisation.
      The photography is by Adrianna Glaviano.

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Rooms

      Woods Bagot lines American Australian Association HQ with oak battens

      by

      The American Australian Association has opened a headquarters in New York City, with interiors by architecture firm Woods Bagot designed to offer flexible spaces for events.

      The 9,450-square-foot (878 square metres) space at 600 Third Avenue is the first location in the city for the American Australian Association (AAA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening ties and collaboration between Australia and the US.
      A large, flexible space allows the AAA to host a variety of events and activitiesClose to both the United Nations and the Australian Consulate-General, the headquarters is intended to promote Australian-American relations in NYC by hosting a variety of discussions, performances, exhibitions, networking receptions and more.
      Woods Bagot – which was founded in Adelaide and has offices globally – aimed at “melding the spirit of Australia with the corporate culture of New York” with the project, according to CEO, Nik Karalis. “It’s a stylish, welcoming environment created to bring people from both countries closer together,” he added.
      Moveable dual-purpose furniture created for the space includes a workstation that doubles as a barTo accommodate such varied activities, a large events space was left open to be as flexible as possible while incorporating movable dual-purpose furniture and fittings.

      A custom mobile island acts as both a work surface and a bar, and counters along the windows can also become serving areas for food and drinks.
      The ceiling structure was left exposed, while white oak battens wrap the columnsLocated on a high floor, the space benefits from sweeping views of the skyline through unobstructed expanses of glass.
      The ceiling structure was left exposed to maximise the height in the space, while columns were wrapped in vertical white oak batten system by wood cladding manufacturer Sculptform – for which Woods Bagot created an immersive showroom in Melbourne in 2001.

      Steam-bent timber tunnels through Melbourne showroom by Woods Bagot

      Similar battening lines the lobby and circulation spaces, with curved profiles creating sculptural frames around a golden bar back and over a pair of sliding doors with frosted glass panels.
      The AAA headquarters also houses offices for employees and a boardroom for private meetings.
      The white oak battens also line the lobby area, surrounding the doorway to the boardroomTo commemorate the opening of the space in June 2023, the organisation commissioned a custom artwork from the APY Art Centre Collective.
      The colourful painting was created by eight Indigenous women artists based in Adelaide and hangs in the bar area.
      Some of the battens feature curved profiles to create sculptural shapesWoods Bagot works on projects worldwide, and its current high-profile projects underway range from the Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre in Adelaide to an extension of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
      Also in the US, principal Krista Ninivaggi recently completed the lobby design for the supertall Brooklyn Tower.
      The photography is by Adrian Gaut.

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Piles of green-hued books characterise London Aesop store

      by

      The interior of London’s most recent Aesop store in Marylebone was organised to reference a bookshop and features bespoke timber cabinetry by furniture designer Sebastian Cox.

      Skincare brand Aesop’s in-house design team created the concept for the Marylebone store, which recently relocated from its original home in the London neighbourhood to Marylebone High Street.
      The Marylebone store features piles of green booksThe team took “material references” from the British Library on Euston Road and attempted to emulate the layout of traditional bookshops by choosing warm timbers and towering piles of pale green books to decorate the interior.
      Divided into a main shop and an area for personal skin consultations, the L-shaped store features handmade cabinetry by Cox throughout.
      Olivier Cousy added frescos to the ceiling troughsThe shelving is defined by gently rounded edges, which Cox crafted from lime-washed oak and stained with linseed oil to enhance the timber’s warm appearance.

      He designed the cabinetry with flexible joinery that would allow the furniture to be disassembled and transferred elsewhere if needed.
      Sebastian Cox designed timber cabinetry throughout the interiorOversized rattan lampshades were also chosen for the main shop area, which displays uniform rows of Aesop products and includes large, metallic communal sinks built into the timber cabinetry.
      The store’s also features ceiling troughs with custom-made geometric frescos by artist Olivier Cousy.

      Brooks + Scarpa recycles cardboard tubes and paper for Los Angeles Aesop store interior

      Cousy was informed by Marylebone’s many green squares when painting the designs, which are geometric arrangements of autumnal colours – compositions that take cues from expressionist artist Paul Klee’s 1922 work Tower in Orange and Green.
      “Architecturally, our design method is to connect to the context of the locale, weaving ourselves into its fabric,” said Aesop chief customer officer Suzanne Santos.
      Wooden sinks characterise the skin consultation areaIn the skin consultation area, a sandy-hued, floor-to-ceiling curtain can be pulled to give customers privacy while geometric timber sinks were built into the space’s cabinetry.
      Known for its array of stores that pay homage to their individual locations, Aesop’s other outlets include a branch in London’s Piccadilly Arcade with marble fixtures that filmmaker Luca Guadagnino designed to reference the area’s jewellery boutiques, and a Cambridge store by British studio JamesPlumb with hemp and bulrush accents that nod to the nearby River Cam.
      The photography is by Alixe Lay. 

      Read more: More

    • 63 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Eight welcoming wood-panelled dining rooms

      by

      For our latest lookbook, we’ve selected eight dining rooms from the Dezeen archive where wooden panelling was used to create cosy, earthy environments with an organic feel.

      From South America to Europe, these wood-panelled dining rooms serve as focal points in the interiors and create social spaces for residents and guests.
      Whether they’re made from timber, pine or plywood, the wooden finishes on these statement walls and ceilings have been used to create welcoming environments with peaceful atmospheres.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with focal point wardrobes, statement headboards and homes with pergolas.
      Photography is by Fran Parente and image production is by Victor CorreaER Apartment, Brazil, Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos

      This apartment in São Paulo has an exposed concrete ceiling and uses natural materials, such as walnut, bronze, onyx and stone in its furnishings and finishes.
      Pascali Semerdjian Arquitetos used vertical timber cladding, local art and furniture by Brazilian architects and designers Oscar Niemeyer and Claudia Moreira Salles in the dining room to make the space “deeply Brazilian and vividly cosmopolitan”.
      Find out more about ER Apartment ›
      Photography is by Eric PetschekCarroll Gardens Townhouse, US, Starling Architecture and Emily Lindberg Design
      Starling Architecture and Emily Lindberg Design combined two units in a Brooklyn townhouse to create this family home. The townhouse features Belgian white oak on the flooring and along the corridor, stairs, mudroom, kitchen and dining area.
      The New York-based studios used neutral tones to decorate the five-story house. In the dining room, wooden cabinets and decorative lamellas match the floor and ceiling.
      Find out more about Carroll Gardens Townhouse ›
      Photography is by Tim CrokerDragon Flat, UK, Tsuruta Architects
      Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to design the patterns engraved on plywood panels that decorate the dining room of the Dragon Flat in London’s Notting Hill. Tsuruta Architects used a CNC router – a computer-controlled cutting machine – to engrave a pattern of the River Thames on the wall.
      The architecture studio also updated the two-level maisonette to include a walk-in wardrobe and tatami room, which features an engraved design on its panelled walls.
      Find out more about Dragon Flat ›
      Photography is by David GrandorgeHomerton College, UK, Feilden Fowles
      Homerton College at the University of Cambridge includes a dining hall by London architecture studio Feilden Fowles made from concrete, timber and 3,200 faience tiles.
      The building, which was constructed with chestnut-laminated timber frames and clerestory windows, features a larger eating space, a smaller eating room, the kitchen and staff amenities.
      It was designed to celebrate handcrafting techniques and contemporary construction and engineering.
      Find out more about Homerton College ›
      Photography is by Roland HalbeHouse in El Peumo, Chile, Cristián Izquierdo Lehmann
      This house, designed by Cristián Izquierdo Lehmann, centres around an open-plan kitchen and dining room with a vaulted ceiling that is used for cooking, dining and socialising.
      A minimalist decor compliments the dramatic ceiling, with red stools used for dining and a bookcase lining the wall.
      Located in El Peumo, Chile, the house was clad with laminated pine and features concrete floors and large windows for the owners to enjoy the green exterior.
      Find out more about House in El Peumo ›

      Another Seedbed, US, Future Projects
      The Another Seedbed loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serves as both a home and performance space for its owner. To function as both, the space is predominately open, with hidden rooms located around the apartment.
      Warm pine walls mark the dining space, which features a complementary red angular table and wooden sculptural chairs.
      Other walls in the loft are covered in hand-troweled earthen clay plaster, blue penny-round tiles and floor-to-ceiling shelving.
      Find out more about Another Seedbed ›
      Photography is by Art GrayStone Creek Camp, US, Andersson-Wise Architects
      US-based Andersson-Wise Architects designed the Stone Creek Camp in Big Fork, Montana, as a family retreat of cabins and cottages.
      While it is wood-clad, the kitchen and dining area does not feature traditional panelled walls. Instead, one wall is made from wooden logs that have been assembled to create an unusual wall with a highly textured surface.
      The ceiling was clad in wooden panels that match the floorboards in the home.
      Find out more about Stone Creek Camp ›
      Photography is by Marc GoodwinGeilo Valley Cabin, Norway, Lund Hagem
      Panelled with blackened timber, this Norwegian ski cabin shelters residents from harsh weather conditions and offers panoramic views of the Geilo Valley. The cabin’s exterior concrete walls have also been tinted black to reflect the interior panels.
      The walls and ceiling of the dining room use the same timber cladding, matching the kitchen island to create a cosy, coherent atmosphere.
      “The dark tone allows the nature outside to come closer and creates a darkness that contrasts with the white winter landscape,” said the project’s architects Lund Hagem.
      Find out more about Geilo Valley Cabin ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring homes with focal point wardrobes, statement headboards and homes with pergolas.

      Read more: More

    • 188 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Christian + Jade explores the Weight of Wood with exhibition at 3 Days of Design

      by

      Danish design studio Christian + Jade has created an exhibition in collaboration with wood flooring manufacturer Dinesen that explores the density of wood and its significance and history as a commodity.

      The Weight of Wood exhibition, which takes place at the Dinesen showroom as part of Copenhagen festival 3 Days of Design, was the result of a year-long research project commissioned by the brand’s recently founded Dinesen Lab.
      Weight of Wood is an exhibition by Christian + JadeDinesen Lab invited Christian Hammer Juhl and Jade Chan, founders of Christian + Jade, to take part in a residency in which local artists were asked to work with wood harvested by the company to produce a research project and explore the weight of wood.
      The Weight of Wood installation is located within a large exhibition space at the brand’s showroom in Copenhagen. This was divided into a series of smaller rooms via sheets of textured paper hung vertically from a wooden pavilion.
      It takes place at the Dinesen showroomEach of the smaller rooms separates the exhibition into three different parts titled Forest and Wood, Wood and Wood, and Human and Wood.

      Throughout the exhibition space, wooden tables hold a number of experiments and interventions completed by Christian + Jade using different types of wood that were harvested by Dinesen.
      “We were fascinated by the idea that no two pieces of wood weigh the same, not even if it comes from the same tree trunk,” the studio explained at a preview of the exhibition. “This was really what sparked our interest in this project.”
      The exhibition explores the ways in which wood has been commodified”Through this exhibition, we have tried to work with this idea in various scales,” the studio founders added. “It sort of presents a design methodology, combining different pieces of wood with different densities.”
      “What we have created is not only a series of furniture but also a rocking horse, a rocking chair and lots of small experiments that visualise this intangible quality of wood, which is the weight of wood.”

      Nemo Lighting showcases “abandoned” Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand lamps

      A collection of different-sized cubic wooden volumes were presented in the exhibition, made from 11 different species of wood including beech, cherry, Douglas fir and elm. Each of the pieces of wood weighs 250 grams and conveys the different densities of wood through volume and size.
      A seesaw placed at the rear of the exhibition space featured a base made from Douglas fir and topped by a seat constructed from equal parts Douglas fir and oak. As a result of oak having a higher density than Douglas fir, the seesaw will always lean towards its oak-constructed side.
      The designers used Dinesen’s wood for their experiments”We chose three different furniture archetypes that require weight and balance in their function – the seesaw, the rocking chair and the rocking horse,” Chan said.
      “So in designing or reimagining the furniture, we’ve worked with four of Dinesen’s main wood species; that is Douglas fir, oak, pine and ash.”
      The exhibition was divided into three parts”The seesaw is an example of one of the simple principles that we apply – the pivot point is made using Douglas and the seat is made using oak and Douglas,” Chan added.
      The rocking horse was constructed from 87 per cent Douglas fir and 13 per cent ash. Because of its Douglas fir-heavy construction, the horse always tilts towards one side, which provides it with a unique movement.
      The exhibition included a rocking horse, seesaw and rocking chairChan concluded the preview of the Weight of Wood exhibition with a poem by H P Dinesen, a relative of the company founders:
      “To those who love the tree, those who may be fighting the tree, the one who plants the tree, the one who fells the tree, the poet who praises the tree, and the one who simply settles with enjoying the tree.”
      Also at this year’s 3 Days of Design, Nemo Lighting unveiled a light designed by architect Le Corbusier and a lamp by architect Charlotte Perriand and Takt launched a fully disassemblable sofa that can be replaced and recycled.
      The photography is by Claus Troelsgaard.
      Weight of Wood is on show as part of 3 Days of Design 2023, from 7 June to 9 June 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about the event, plus a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      KKDW Studios creates offices for Yoga With Adriene founder in Austin

      by

      Austin-based KKDW Studios has designed the headquarters for a yoga subscription app called Find What Feels Good, including a space for filming instructional videos.

      KKDW Studios founder Kelly DeWitt collaborated with yoga teacher Adriene Mishler – who became well-known through her Yoga With Adriene instructional videos – to create a base for Find What Feels Good, the platform she co-founded that offers video tutorials for at-home workouts.
      KKDW Studios used a modular system to build offices within the space for Find What Feels GoodLocated in East Austin, the 5,000-square-foot (465-square-metre) space was previously an empty shell with blue walls and a high-gloss, yellow-tinged concrete floor.
      DeWitt’s team described an intention to create “a space to evolve in and experiment with, a place to be inspired and inspired others.”
      Communal workstations are positioned in front of private offices”The space should feel welcoming with a warm, homey ambiance that makes you want to take a deep exhale,” the team added.

      To add this warmth, the majority of the interventions were made with wood, which forms wall panelling, louvred partitions, frames for glass walls, and furniture. The concrete floors were refinished in matte grey.
      A bright kitchen includes an island mounted on castors, which can be moved when neededDesigned for a quickly growing team and to be multi-functional, all the elements of the interiors are either bolted together or mounted on wheels, so they can be easily moved if needed.
      The linear space is divided up along its fenestrated facade. At one end is a cosy lounge area for receiving visitors or communal work, while a bright, fully equipped kitchen is located at the other.
      Warm-toned materials were chosen for the spaceIn between, the modular timber-framed glazed walls form a row of private offices, while an open workspace with large tables is positioned in front.
      Facing the windows is an uninterrupted wall that stretches 80 feet (24 metres), which is used by Mishler and her team as a backdrop for filming yoga videos for their app and Youtube channel.

      Ten homes designed for practising yoga and meditation

      Air ducts and other visual obstacles had to be moved to ensure that the shot is unobstructed, while the vertical slat in the lounge partition pivot to ensure the lighting is just right.
      “Natural light can be inspiring, but when filming, sometimes what they need is control – this allows them the best of both worlds,” said KKDW Studios.
      Slats in a partition can be adjusted to control light levels when filming in the spaceCushions for sofas and armchairs are wrapped in tufted, textured beige fabric in a variety of tones that are echoed in the rugs.
      From the exposed, angled ceiling hang a series of spherical pendant lamps, as well as power outlets on retractable cords for use at the workstations.
      An uninterrupted wall provides a backdrop for Adriene Mishler’s instructional yoga videos”All furniture is completely custom, designed after getting to know Adriene and her team, their needs, workflow, etc,” said KKDW Studios, which also acted as general contractor for the project.
      Yoga – a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices – continues to grow in popularity around the world, and demand for at-home workouts like those facilitated by Find What Feels Good skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
      Here are 10 homes with dedicated spaces for practising yoga and meditation.
      The photography is by Andrea Calo.

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Energy-saving 10K House in Barcelona is a “labyrinth that multiplies perspectives”

      by

      Spanish studio Takk took cues from snugly stacked Russian dolls for the interior renovation of this Barcelona apartment, which features rooms nestled inside each other to maximise insulation.

      Called 10K House, the 50-square-metre apartment was renovated by Takk using a material budget of only 10,000 euros with the aim of updating the home to be as sustainable as possible.
      10K House is a residential interior design projectThe project was informed by concerns about climate change as well as the global energy crisis faced by homeowners and renters.
      Arranged across one open level, rooms were built “inside one another” in a formation that mimics the layers of an onion and places the rooms that require the most heat at the centre of the apartment, according to Takk.
      The bedroom is raised on recycled white table legs”This causes the heat emitted by us, our pets or our appliances to have to go through more walls to reach the outside,” principal architects Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño told Dezeen.

      “If we place the spaces that need more heat – for example, the room where we sleep – in the centre of the Matryoshka [a Russian doll] we realise that we need to heat it less because the configuration of the house itself helps to maintain the temperature.”
      “The result is a kind of labyrinth that multiplies perspectives,” explained the architects, who designed the project for a single client.
      MDF was used throughout the apartmentRecycled table legs were used to elevate these constructed rooms to allow the free passage of water pipes and electrical fittings without having to create wall grooves, reducing the overall cost.
      For example, the raised central bedroom is clad in gridded frames of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) that are enveloped by slabs of local sheep’s wool – utilitarian and inexpensive materials that feature throughout the interior.
      “Despite being a small apartment, it is very complex to ensure that you never get bored of the space,” said Luzárraga and Muiño.
      The remnants of previous partitions were left exposedAfter demolishing the apartment’s existing internal layout, Takk chose not to apply costly and carbon-intensive coatings to the floors and walls.
      Rather, the architects scrubbed the space clean and left traces of the previous partitions and dismantled light fixtures visible, giving the apartment a raw appearance and maintaining a reminder of the original floor plan.
      The kitchen features a metallic sink and low-slung cabinetsThe kitchen is located in the most open part of 10K House, which includes timber geometric cabinetry and an exposed metallic sink.
      According to the architects, the open kitchen intends to act as a facility “without associated gender” and address stereotypes typically attached to housework.

      Energy savings from home insulation “vanishing” after four years

      “Traditionally, the kitchen has been understood as a space to be used mainly by women, whether they own the house or do domestic work,” reflected Luzárraga and Muiño.
      “This has meant that [historically] this space has been relegated to secondary areas of the house, poorly lit and poorly ventilated, especially in small homes.”
      “One way to combat this is by placing the kitchen in better and open spaces, so that everyone, regardless of their gender, is challenged to take charge of this type of task,” they added.
      10K House was constructed using CNC-milled componentThe dwelling was constructed using CNC-milled components that were cut prior to arriving on-site and assembled using standard screws.
      Takk chose this method to encourage DIY when building a home, and armed the client with a small instruction manual that allowed them to assemble aspects of the apartment themselves “as if [the apartment] were a piece of furniture”.
      Takk was informed by soaring energy prices when designing the project10K House is based on a previous project by the architecture studio called The Day After House, which features similar “unprejudiced” design principles, according to Luzárraga and Muiño.
      The architects – who are also a couple – created a winter-themed bedroom for their young daughter by inserting a self-contained igloo-like structure within their home in Barcelona.
      The photography is by José Hevia.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Natural Connections exhibition aims to “help people rediscover nature”

      by

      Designers Inma Bermúdez, Moritz Krefter, Jorge Penadés and Alvaro Catalán de Ocón have created three playful wooden furniture pieces on show at Madrid Design Festival.

      Devised by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Natural Connections was on show in the entrance hall of the cultural building Matadero Madrid.
      Top: Natural Connections features playful furniture pieces. Above: the exhibition took place in the Matadero MadridEach of the three furniture pieces was designed to encourage interaction with wood – with one acting as a bench, the other a climbing frame and the third a hanging light installation.
      The designs were created in response to a brief provided by AHEC, which sought pieces made by Spanish designers out of maple, cherry, and red oak hardwoods sourced from American forests in an effort to encourage the use of the material.
      Catalán de Ocón designed Nube, a hanging light installation”We challenged the design studios to present these chambers in a public space – in a public context – so that visitors get to experience a connection,” AHEC European director David Venables told Dezeen.

      “The design teams worked with maple, cherry, and red oak to create playful, original, and highly innovative installations that we hope will provide engagement, excitement and a connection for visitors to these wonderful natural materials,” said Venables.
      Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter created several “bovine-shaped” seatsDesigner Catalán de Ocón created a six-metre-long hanging light called Nube  – which translates to cloud in English – made of 4,000 interconnected spherical and cylindrical individual pieces of wood.
      Nube is lit by several LED lights that were placed in the middle of the hollow structure. A brass cable runs from the bass into the mesh structure, branching into positive and negative electric currents.
      Positive poles run through the cherry wood while negative poles run through the maple pieces, which form a complete circuit when they touch and illuminate the bulbs.
      Visitors can perch on the benches and touch the woodsIts design was informed by Catalán de Ocón’s fascination with the manufacturing process for small utilitarian wooden objects such as pegs, matches and blinds.
      “I was inspired by the little match or the pencil, or the wooden pin for hanging the clothes – those kinds of manufacturing techniques, where you get an object which is repeated over and over and over again,” Catalán de Ocón told Dezeen.
      Jorge Penadés produced a bleacher-style structureMeanwhile, La Manada Perdida, or The Lost Herd, by Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter was influenced by the Matadero’s former function as a slaughterhouse and cattle market.
      The Spanish design duo produced a series of red oak, maple and cherry benches for Natural Connections that reference equine and bovine animals such as horses and cows. The pieces were given minimal finishing to mimic the texture of the tree they came from.
      “They appear as benches or seats, but their design goes beyond furniture to incorporate aspects of imagination and play to help people encounter and rediscover nature,” said AHEC.

      Students create sustainable furniture from hardwoods at Madrid Design Festival

      Madrid-based designer Penadés responded to the natural connections theme by producing a tiered seating piece called Wrap that is connected by ball joints.
      The designer, who is known for his interior projects with Spanish footwear brand Camper, glued and rolled 0.7-millimetres-thick pieces of cherry veneer into tubes to create tubular hollow components, which form a bleacher-style seat when joined together.
      Wrap is made from thin rolls of cherry veneerNatural Connections is one of several exhibitions at Madrid Design Festival, a month-long event that sees a design programme take over the Spanish city. After the exhibition ends, the furniture will remain in the cultural centre for a year.
      Also at this year’s edition is Slow Spain, an exhibition by university students that aims to explore American hardwoods and mindful furniture consumption.
      Last year saw lighting designer Antoni Arola and Spanish light manufacturer Simon use a smoke machine, lasers and a small tree to create Fiat Lux 3 Architectures of Light.
      Natural Connections is on show at Matadero Madrid as part of Madrid Design Festival 2023, which takes place from 14 February to 12 March. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the month.
      The photography is courtesy of AHEC.
      Project credits:
      Designers: Inma Bermúdez and Moritz Krefter, Alvaro Catalán de Ocón, Jorge PenadésPartners: American Hardwood Export Council, Matadero Madrid, Madrid Design Festival, Tamalsa

      Read more: More