Second Nature
Second Nature explores the hidden potential of sawing waste from wood processing industry. The design aims to change such irregular material from being unwanted to becoming a specific feature by using it in the furniture design.
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Photos: Tzu-Chiao Chiu
Photos: Tzu-Chiao Chiu
Year: 2016
According to the sawing process of general mills, a log is first cut into wide slabs that are then divided into narrower beams and boards. In order to cut into dimension lumbers, the bark of the board is sawn off each side with a little sapwood attached to the piece removed. All of the fall off—the bark and the sapwood—are normally regarded as the waste. Some are mechanically reduced to small chips to produce wood-based construction materials like particle board or plywood, yet most of them are simply burned.
The design intends to turn these waste back to an abstraction of a tree. Depending on the shape and size, handpicked waste wood particles are put together to resemble the arc of the rounded trunk. They are then converted into a series of furniture including a three-tier shelf and a stool.
The shelf comprises splits of waste wood with its bark and three shelves of wood grid system. Every single offcut connects to the grids, which makes the structure reinforced and gives an elegant appearance. When viewed from certain sides, the contour of the shelf is as a tree, preserving the natural form of the piece.
Making use of the cut surfaces of the sapwoods, the seat of a stool is formed while the bark is underneath. The side of the stool shows the profile which is similar to the cross section of a trunk suspending in the air.
The Second Nature project originates from the thought questioning where the rest part of the wood goes when the timer gets sawn and cut in standard increments. Utilizing the existing dimensions in the process of sawing wood, both the shelf and the stool are constructed due to the original size and incision of the left-over material.
Second Nature fuses them with opposing, sleek wooden structure, aiming to highlight the raw character of the bark and explore the boundary of the so-called sawing waste. It could still be wood.
