The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) is the leading international trade association for the U.S. hardwood industry, representing the committed exporters among American hardwood companies and all the major U.S. hardwood product trade associations.

For over 25 years, AHEC has been at the forefront of international wood promotion, successfully building a distinctive and creative brand for American hardwoods. AHEC’s support for creative design projects such as The Smile for London Design Festival, The Workshop of Dreams for Hay Festival or Too good to Waste for Interni’s Material Immaterial exhibition demonstrates the performance and aesthetic potential of these sustainable materials and provides valuable inspiration. 

Benedetta Tagliabue studied architecture at the Istituto di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) and is a director of the international architecture firm Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, founded in 1994 in collaboration with Enric Miralles, based in Barcelona and, since 2010, in Shanghai.

Among her most notable projects built are the Edinburgh Parliament, Diagonal Mar Park, the Santa Caterina market in Barcelona, Campus Universitario de Vigo, and the Spanish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Current studio projects include the Business School of Fudan University in Shanghai, office towers in Xiamen and Taichung, public spaces of HafenCity in Hamburg Germany, the metro station Clichy-Montfermeil in Paris, France (first prize in competition) and the metro central station in Naples, Italy.

Her award-winning studio works in the fields of architecture, design of public spaces, rehabilitation, interior and industrial design. She has also been a visiting professor at Harvard University, Columbia University and Barcelona ETSAB. Her work received the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2005, the National Spanish Prize in 2006, the Catalan National prize in 2002, City of Barcelona prize in 2005 and 2009, FAD prizes in 2000, 2003 and 2007.

Benchmark is one of the UK’s leading furniture makers, founded 30 years ago by Terence Conran and Sean Sutcliffe. ‘Too Good to Waste’, conceived and delivered in just seven weeks, is a fine example of Benchmark’s design resolution skills and ‘can-do’ attitude. It is the scale of their workshops and the skills of their designers and craftsmen that has enabled the vision of EMBT and AHEC to become a reality.

With one of the country’s most technologically advanced workshops and a team of over 50 craftsmen and designers, Benchmark design and make furniture that combines contemporary technologies and values with traditional craftsmanship and high quality materials to last for generations. Twice winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, their sustainable credentials are second to none.

With significant breadth of experience, Benchmark make furniture for workspaces, hotels, restaurants, retail, public buildings and private residences.  As well as making for contemporary spaces, their furniture graces many heritage buildings including cathedrals, Oxbridge colleges, schools, museums and libraries.  Benchmark ‘s expertise extends well beyond the UK with extensive work in Europe including projects in Paris, Berlin, Milan, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Madrid as well as further afield into North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Japan.

INTERNI is the leading Italian magazine for interiors and contemporary design, reporting on innovative trends and the modern culture of living for an international audience. The exhibition-event of INTERNI, which reaches its 20th edition in 2017, will feature a series of micro-architectures, macro-objects and experimental installations created by internationally acclaimed designers, with the aim of breaking down the conventional confines of architecture and design, opening them to a multidisciplinary approach of contaminations. INTERNI Material Immaterial will explore design applications not only on the scale of objects and spaces,but also in terms of processes and systems, including very timely areas ranging from the digital world to communication, all the way to productive systems, with a strong focus on sustainability and new technologies.

Allegheny Wood Products, Beard Hardwoods, Bingaman & Son Lumber Inc, Blue Ridge Lumber Inc, Cersosimo Lumber Co Inc, J & J Log and Lumber, Wheeland Lumber Company Inc, Brooks Bros Ltd, Morgan Timber, Middle Tennessee Lumber, NHG Timber, Robert Coleman Lumber, The Turman Group and W.M Cramer Lumber Co.