'BENCH PRESS' IN AMERICAN TULIPWOOD WRONG/WOODS IN COLLABORATION FOR THE 2009 LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

The creative collaboration between the Design Development Director of Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong, and artist Richard Woods was continued with the 'Bench Press' seating installation for the entrance foyer of the V&A Museum, the hub at the London Design Festival 2009. Designed in American tulipwood, the project marked the second stage in Established & Sons' working relationship with the American Hardwood Export Council.

Four pieces, one for each corner of the V&A's lofty foyer and created as mirror images, reflect the design partners' fascination with the relationship between the functional and the ornamental.  Combining tulipwood's natural grain with Wood's signature decorative paint finish, Wrong's seating design was inspired by the foyer's grand architrave, with his uncompromising, simple lines created by 'layering' lengths of tulipwood up to 3metres long. Wood's graphic technique, for which he uses household paints, emphasises the straight, clean lines of the pieces, with his unique approach producing a wide palette of strong colours, including turquoise, yellow and red.  And some lengths have been left as natural tulipwood to show the timber's grain and distinctive gold to green tones.  Studio Caparo, specialists in working with designers on one-off pieces, constructed the installation at their South London workshop, working closely with Wrong and Woods on the realisation of their design.    

Sebastian Wrong describes the installation: "Using the tulipwood boards from the Milan show installation, we have constructed and printed a three tier bench which references the many tiered plaster cornice around the central atrium of the V&A, directly above the bench positions. The work intentionally corrupts the high Victorian architecture of the surrounding area by misaligning the order of the space, juxtaposing the tiered benches, exposing the open ends and discontinuing the mitred corners to create a hole.  Layers of wood grain paint have been applied in areas; end grain, side lengths and full boards are exposed print surfaces, as well as being 'sandwiched' into the construction."

As part of a collaboration between the American Hardwood Export Council and Established & Sons, Established's Design Development Director Sebastian Wrong and designer Richard Woods have used recycled American tulipwood for their 'Bench Press' installation at the V&A.  With the focus on resource efficiency, the reused timber formed part of the stunning tulipwood 'walled settlement' created by Wrong to show Established & Sons' fifth furniture collection at this year's Milan Furniture Fair.

American hardwoods come from the largest and most diverse temperate forest in the world where a staggering 4 million family foresters own the vast majority of the hardwood resource. Living and working in the forest all their lives has given these forest owners a deep and natural understanding of good forest management principles which are passed down through the generations. And, as a result, the resource is thriving. In the years between 1953 and 2007 the volume of U.S. hardwood growing stock more than doubled, with government forecasts indicating a further increase of 15% to 20% in the next 20 years or so.

Tulipwood (also known as yellow poplar) is one of the most prolific of the American hardwoods and it grows widely throughout the Eastern USA. One of the largest trees in the US forest, the tulipwood tree produces wider and longer specifications.  Its colour palette, which ranges from pale, yellow tones to olive green, and its versatility and easy working means that it used for a wide variety of practical applications.    

Its transformation from a rather utilitarian species, more at home in kitchen cabinets and low cost furniture, started at the London Design Festival last year when architect David Adjaye chose tulipwood for his 'Sclera' pavilion. This year its particular ability to hold paint exceptionally well has made it the perfect timber for Richard Wood's signature decorative paint finish for the 'Bench Press'  installation at the V&A Museum.

For AHEC's European Director David Venables, working with the country's leading artists, designers and architects is providing a rich vein of new applications for tulipwood. He says: "This is a simply stunning installation and it marks a further stage in our working relationship with Established & Sons which began in Milan and which we want to continue with further projects. This collaborative approach is at the heart of our strategy for showcasing American hardwoods through cutting edge design."

This year's collaboration with Established & Sons is a further chapter in the story of tulipwood's rise from utilitarian species to featured timber for a number of high profile projects.And its transformation continues. In a world where sustainability is the new watchword, American tulipwood is attracting the interest of architects and designers, with research and development programmes fast tracking its increased and more visible presence in design and building.