The onset of Covid-19 has significantly changed the way people live, interact and work. In collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and the Design Museum, Connected is an experiment that sets out to explore how creatives and makers adapt their processes using new technologies to work together, at a distance.
Nine international designers have been challenged to create a table and seating, which will suit their new ways of working from and living at home. They will be recording their creative journeys to give us an insight to their approach, during these challenging times.
Each designer will be paired with a craftsman in our Berkshire workshop, relying solely on digital communication and video conferencing to develop their pieces and bring their visions to life.
The message of sustainability is at the core of the project and will explore how the designers can champion a beautiful and sustainable material; hardwood. The designers will be using a mix of three underused species – red oak, maple and cherry – which combined account for more than 40% of all standing hardwoods in the American forests.
The American hardwood forests are not a planted resource, so what exists in the forest is there because nature intended it. Over-reliance on a narrow selection of timbers ultimately results in supply stress on the forest. So in order to design sustainably, there is a responsibility to use all of what nature provides.
All the projects will come together in London’s Design Museum, when it re-opens to the public, celebrating the act of coming back together – reconnecting – after lockdown. Click here to read more about the project
