The growing debate on sustainability and the need to end our current throwaway culture was the starting point to initiate the Future Heirlooms project in Turkey. Designers have a huge influence on how products are planned and with what materials.

Future Heirlooms Turkey brings together seven Turkish designers to create an object or a piece of furniture out of American hardwoods that fully encapsulates the themes of sustainability, longevity and quality.

Seven emerging Turkish designers were chosen through an open-call process and a selection committee, made up of celebrated designers and architects: Tom Dixon, Melkan Gürsel, Defne Koz, Seyhan Ozdemir and Mehmet Ali Uysal.

The selected designers were tasked with creating an object or small piece of furniture using three under-utilised species of American hardwood - cherry, maple and red oak -  which addressed the following: How do our objects help promote these themes in an increasingly fast-paced world?; How can we foster a sense of thoughtful, intentional, and holistic design in order to slow down excessive production, overcomplicated supply chains, mindless consumption and waste?

Full environmental impact assessments of each of the seven completed designs would also be calculated.