Getting back to basics has seen this hardwood bench succeed in meeting eco-compliance and intelligence in function
November 1st, 2012
“Design a seat for a function. This could be a chair, stool or bench or anything else that can be sat upon. Materials to be used are American hardwood lumber and veneers” – so read the brief from renowned designer Sebastian Wrong to students of the Platform 15 Design Programme at London’s Royal College of Art (RCA).
Working in conjunction with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Wrong and the RCA set a task that essentially called for smart design – a focus on celebrating the inherent properties of hardwoods, to accentuate their versatility in production and impressive material qualities.
Melbourne’s Nicholas Gardner and fellow first year student David Horan rose to the challenge ably, with the creation of the Phyllida bench – a piece that drew it’s inspiration from the work of British sculptor Phyllida Barlow.
Homing in on Barlow’s talent for creating volume with minimal components; the pair explored the potential for a timber variety called Tulipwood to help them produce a design that would accommodate more than one user but still offer mobility for relocating or transporting the piece with ease.
“We came up with this rather gestural way of creating volume without using a lot of materials: coiling a piece of material around into a tube and keeping it together with a strap. The bench made for the project was completely out of timber and we looked to push the structural properties of the material as far as possible” say Gardner and Horan.
Tulipwood was chosen for its high strength to weight ratio, exhibited in the fact that the legs of the 2m long solid tulipwood bench are pieces of rolled ply just 1.5mm thick.
“I’m interested in how to use the minimum thickness of material for the maximum presence” adds Gardner “and to consider how to use standard pieces of timber to reduce both labour and wastage”.
The bench’s legs fit into carved tulipwood base rings and to a circular groove on the underside of the bench. The rings are joined to the flat seat by bungee cords which also hold the bench together when it is dissembled.
Simplicity and return to essential elements that presents a wholly functional and visually striking solution.
American Hardwood Export Council
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Schneider Electric’s new range are making bulky outlets a thing of the past with the new UNICA X collection.
Gaggenau’s understated appliance fuses a carefully calibrated aesthetic of deliberate subtraction with an intuitive dynamism of culinary fluidity, unveiling a delightfully unrestricted spectrum of high-performing creativity.
In this candid interview, the culinary mastermind behind Singapore’s Nouri and Appetite talks about food as an act of human connection that transcends borders and accolades, the crucial role of technology in preserving its unifying power, and finding a kindred spirit in Gaggenau’s reverence for tradition and relentless pursuit of innovation.
It’s widely accepted that nature – the original, most accomplished design blueprint – cannot be improved upon. But the exclusive Crypton Leather range proves that it can undoubtedly be enhanced, augmented and extended, signalling a new era of limitless organic materiality.
As the prominent and highly anticipated Darling Harbour hotel opens, we bring you the in-depth design insights from the UK interiors practice.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
We spoke to the internationally renowned Moroccan designer on the eve of his visit to Australia as guest of honour for Design & Build Week 2025.
In a market saturated with sameness, Studio P3 set out to raise the bar, creating four refined speculative suites for Mirvac in Sydney, with Milliken flooring playing an essential role in realising a space with broad appeal – all underpinned by a commitment to sustainability.
Striking a harmonious chord amidst the urban rhythm of Adelaide’s Festival Plaza, Flinders University’s new campus integrates meticulously crafted soundscapes that soothe the buzz of modern pedagogy, settling into the building’s multifaceted context.
Humanscale’s Chief Sustainability Officer is embarking on a tour of Australia, delivering a talk entitled: “Sustainable by Design: Materials Transparency for a Healthier Planet.” At the same time, the company opens a brand new showroom in Sydney. We met her to find out more.