Words on Wood returns for a second season.
Disegno is delighted to announce the launch of the second season of Words on Wood, a podcast made in collaboration with and supported by AHEC.
This season sees Disegno’s editors Oli Stratford and India Block navigate the intersections between the worlds of forestry and design and architecture, focusing in on topics including timber construction; experimental uses of wood and cellulose; a worldwide timber tracing network; and a look at how designers and makers are bringing fresh relevance to traditional woodcraft practices.
The second series launches with a deep dive into building with timber, featuring interviews with Andrew Lawrence, a timber engineering specialist at Arup, and the architect Lina Ghotmeh. Speaking from their different specialisms, the pair explore the benefits of building with timber and engineered wood, and discuss how wood’s use is perceived by the public, governments and building industries.
The second season launches with an exploration of construction with engineered wood products.
Building with Timber – With architecture under more pressure than ever to improve the sustainability of buildings, Words on Wood looks at the potential for timber structures to reshape the field. Given the opportunities and challenges facing the construction of tall timber buildings, what role does wood have to play in the future of our built environment? Engineer Andrew Lawrence and architect Lina Ghotmeh discuss the complexities of the issues.
New Wood Technologies – Wood is an ancient material, but one that is still providing designers with new processes, forms and techniques. In this episode, the podcast talks to designers Sam Hecht, Yves Béhar and Elissa Brunato, all of whom have worked with wood as a cutting-edge material that can continue to reinvent itself.
Old Crafts, New Ways– While technology and digital processes accelerate and permeate design, a number of designers have turned towards traditional craft processes to find contemporary modes of expression. Designer Stephen Burks and Orhan Niksic of Bosnian furniture brand Zanat join the podcast to talk about their approaches towards traditional woodwork and how 21st-century design can find fresh social resonances in timeworn techniques.
The World Forest ID– Faced with the challenges posed by illegal logging, a global consortium of organisations has now turned to science to find a solution. The World Forest ID is a new initiative that uses georeferenced wood samples to be able to analyse any timber and discover where exactly it was harvested. In this episode, the podcast talks to the people behind the project and dives into the development of this new technology, examining how greater information about provenance may lead to better governance of the world’s forests.
Alongside this, the series will also see the release of Tree Shorts, a collection of shorter episodes exploring a particular tree, its timber, and a design project that makes use of its distinct properties.
You can listen to the new series and our back episodes of Words on Wood on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.