Timber Tales with Team 7

December 7th, 2011

“We went back to the beginning and used our grandfather’s non-toxic rules,” says the International Sales Manager for Team 7, Oliver Bayerl.

Bayerl is referring to the years 1980-1981 in which the then founder of Austrian furniture design company, Team 7, saw a proliferation of white lacquer furniture spreading across consumer markets, and decided to do things differently.

It was at this point that Team 7 re-focused their vision on their rich cabinet making heritage, and the country’s rich source of sustainably grown timber, to make furniture – just “like our grandfathers” using solid wood over MDF, and oil and beeswax over lacquer.

Showing the new collection at IMM Cologne in 1981 was, as Oliver describes it, “a disaster” with distributors, yet a success with end consumers looking for something really different.

Today Team 7 is renowned for their solid wood timber furniture which carries an air of pared-back natural beauty, as well as their sustainable practices.

The latter came almost as if by fate, says Oliver.

“We realised that we use only timber from sustainably managed forests, we use glue that is free of formaldehyde, and use beeswax on our surfaces.”

Designers Jacob Strobel (top) and Sebastian Desch

Speaking of forests, Team 7 actually builds a percentage of their furniture using wood sourced from their very own sustainable forest.

This, combined with an in-house saw mill, means their capabilities for building custom-made solid wood furniture for all areas of the home is greatly enhanced.

Further confirming their reputation as suppliers of solid wood is their relationship with leading brands such as Steinway & Sons pianos, and bathroom brand Villeroy & Boch.

Their furniture is now available in Australia, a country which Oliver feels has a strong appreciation for environmentally conscious design, as well as the integrity and beauty of natural materials.

“It’s a good match” for a company whose forward-thinking values is informed by its rich heritage.

Team 7
team7.at/en

Distributed by Popcorn Interiors.

INDESIGN is on instagram

Follow @indesignlive

OASIS :: Studio Lotus balances nature with the man

Dipping offices in colour with Herman Miller

Bidding farewell to mundane and uninspired office spaces, colour has transformed our workplaces into layered and engaging environments. So we sit down with Karina Simpson, Hot Black’s Workplace Lead, to talk about the influence colour has on the workspace landscape through the prism of Herman Miller’s progressive colour philosophy.

Elegant decadence, relaxed formality, future nostalgia: 66 King Street by Cox Architecture

A grand stage demands a grand performance and the interior architecture at The Charles Grand Brasserie and Bar lives up to its surroundings at 66 King Street. With multiple hospitality functions offset against music venue TIVA down below, these elegant spaces contain more than a hint of Old World decadence.

The Review, part one: ‘Truth and Lies in Architecture’ by Richard Francis-Jones

Timothy Alouani-Roby met with Richard Francis-Jones of fjcstudio (formerly fjmtstudio) to discuss his timely, provocative and, quite frankly, necessary book on architecture. In this first part of the book review, we consider the alienation and commodification of the profession, as well as its place in society.