Three countries, three designers, three woods, three days
For the 10th edition of 3daysofdesign, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) presented Three – an exhibition exploring the creative potential of hardwood timbers and a new generation of Scandinavian designers. As disrupted global supply chains and climate crisis create an urgent need for the design industry to rethink timber sourcing and make the switch to more environmentally responsible hardwoods, AHEC is setting out the case for American hardwoods such as red oak, cherry and maple. Three has been conceived to demonstrate the possibilities of these woods as sustainable, affordable materials through a trio of extraordinary pieces that tread the porous border between functional design and sculptural art. The three design-makers exhibiting each represent a different Nordic country: Anne Brandhøj from Denmark, Pia Högman from Sweden, and Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng from Norway.
Selected by AHEC for their affinity with natural materials, their commitment to sustainable making, and the beauty and poetry of their practice, each has been given one hardwood and free rein to explore its creative potential in whatever way they like. The exhibition at Copenhagen Design Agency not only displayed the three designers’ finished pieces, it also told the stories of their making and connected visitors to the importance of the American hardwood forests, where these inspiring materials are found. “The brief to each designer-maker was to explore the material they were given to work with and let that process inform the creative outcome in whatever direction they chose. This is a very different approach to that of our previous projects and is a deliberate attempt to make the materials the focus and celebrate a fresh perspective on their potential,” commented David Venables, AHEC European Director. Inner Beauty by Anne Brandhøj Danish designer-maker Anne Brandhøj produces enigmatic objects that cross the boundary between function and sculpture. Her work is underpinned by a crisis moment she experienced while studying for her master’s in furniture design at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. “I became overwhelmed with the idea that I shouldn’t be producing furniture at all, when we already have so much stuff in the world,” she says.
A visit to a local sawmill helped Brandhøj realize that, instead of giving up, she should shift her focus to natural, renewable materials that she could source herself. She began felling her own timber and exploring what would happen if she started shaping the wood before drying it. She learned to value the imperfections, the knots and cracks, and to celebrate the distinct qualities of surface and grain. These details are the defining characteristics in the designs she now produces in her Copenhagen workshop, which she describes as ‘either functional sculptures or sculptural furniture’. Brandhøj is fascinated by the different shapes and substances she discovers within the trunk of a freshly logged tree, such as moss or fungus. “You don’t know what you will find when you open it up; I find that really beautiful,” she says. It is precisely these kinds of forms that the designer explores with American cherry at Three. By building up layers of carved wood, Brandhøj has created a series of consoles with interiors every bit as surprising as her beloved tree trunks. Deep, smooth chasms puncture the cuboidal volume of each.
Brandhøj encourages people to touch her designs, to understand the distinct feel of this particular timber. “To some people, wood is just wood,” she says, “but to me, different types of wood give completely different experiences.” Cured Series by Pia Högman With family roots in Norrland, in the north of Sweden, Pia Högman became fascinated by birch bark, a cardboard-like material traditionally used to create everyday objects. Although the material is seldom used today, Högman’s grandfather was a carpenter, so many of the items she encountered day to day – from tableware to backpacks – were things he had crafted from it. “It was the go-to material in the forest, you could use it for anything you wanted,” she explains.
This led Högman on a voyage of discovery into how birch bark might be used today. She has used the material to create small-scale objects including bowls and serving platters, furniture objects and even as roofing tiles for an architectural structure. “When I find a material that I find interesting, I want to dive into it and see all of the possibilities,” she says. Applying the same research-driven thinking to American red oak, Högman discovered that this wood has equally untapped potential, due to it being frequently overlooked in favor of white oak. Keen to change this perception, she set about exploring how various surface treatments might offer new visual and tactile experiences. At Three, Högman presented a set of five matching chairs, each treated with a finish that enhances the open-grained structure of the oak in a different way. Arranged in a satisfying spectrum of colors, the chairs incorporate both linear and curved panels, with details that highlight both the long and end grains of the wood. The designer hopes her experiments will help red oak to be seen in a new light.
“My goal as a designer is not to simply produce products that anyone could make; it’s more important to me to contribute to something bigger, like giving materials new life,” she says. Sno Shelves, Footstool and Stool by Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng Furniture and homeware designer Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng has a rebellious streak that plays out in the works she produces. Her unique shape language, which takes inspiration from the wild forest landscapes of rural Norway, developed as a reaction against the linear geometries that otherwise dominate the design world. “I was so bored of seeing straight lines everywhere,” she says. “I wanted to make something different.” Her process is highly intuitive, often taking cues from the material she is working with rather than a preconceived idea of how the object will be used. “Some people like to sketch on paper, but I prefer to think through my hands,” she explains. When working with wood, she experiments with tools that range from the chisel to the chainsaw, to create forms that explore the irregular contours of thegrain. The results may be smooth or multi-faceted, but they all feel highly rooted in the natural world. In American maple, Øfstedal Eng was surprised to find a durable hardwood that behaves similarly to the Norwegian ash she is familiar with, but offers even more striking grain patterns. “When you carve it, it creates an organic, double-curved landscape that is so aesthetically pleasing,” she says. This inspired her to create a trio of furniture objects that combine her free-form geometries with the linear volumes that, until now, she has avoided. Taking cues from the way that moss spreads across the surface of a rock, Øfstedal Eng’s designs include a shelving unit that juxtaposes CNC-milled shelves with highly textural armatures and a footstool and stool that celebrate maple’s annual rings.
Three underused American hardwoods The three timbers at the heart of the exhibition all grow abundantly in American hardwood forests, making up a total of 40% of the forest volume between them, but are currently underused in the design sector. Each plays a key role in the forest ecosystem, and all contribute significantly to its diversity and sustainability. In addition to being easily renewable and serving as a natural carbon store, these materials are also strong, tactile, versatile, and aesthetically appealing – but all have their own distinctive traits and features. “Already breaking boundaries in the male-dominated field of design, the all-female trio of designer makers presented striking sculptural furniture objects that champion the drive towards sustainable wood production and the circular economy. Overall, Three was intended to champion the role that these woods can play in the sustainable future of design and architecture – while raising awareness of their status as vital components of the forest’s long-term sustainability,” concluded Roderick Wiles, AHEC Regional Director.