-
-
INVISIBLE STORE OF HAPPINESS
This installation was a unique experiment and collaboration between a sculptor and furniture maker to challenge the versatility and properties of American soft maple.
-
-
-
ENJOY
Sebastian Cox used American soft maple and typography from technology specialists Monotype, to bring this word to life as a functional bench in Clerkenwell, London.
-
American soft maple
Soft maple, growing naturally in the hardwood forests of North America, is one of the most prolific and sustainable species, similar to hard maple but slightly softer in impact hardness.
Latin Name
Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum
Other Common Names
red maple, silver maple
Forest Distribution
American soft maples grow widely across the eastern USA in mixed hardwood forests with more red maple in the northeast and silver maple concentrated in the mid and southern states. The name can be misleading as soft maple is not technically very soft. There are a significant number of sub-species – all sold as soft maple. Several, including Pacific coast/big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), grow in the northwest USA, for which there are specific grading rules that apply.
FOREST GROWTH
FIA data shows U.S. soft maple growing stock is 1.62 billion m3, 11.1% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American soft maple is growing 36.4 million m3 per year while the harvest is 16.0 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 20.4 million m3 each year. U.S. soft maple growth exceeds harvest in all the main producing states.