Densified Wood, Modern Designs: "Sous Pression, le Bois Densifié" @ Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Professor Parviz Navi is considered as an authority for what regards researches in wood micromechanics, elasto-viscoplasticity and structure / ultrastructure.

Since the early 2000s Navi also conducted in depth researches at the Laboratory of Building Materials and the Higher Technical School of Wood in Bienne, on the densification of wood. This extremely difficult process enables wood processing without using a specific chemical substance, but employing heat, moisture and pressure.

This natural method allows soft wood such as spruce to become as hard as tropical wood and highlights at the same time the diversity of textures and forms possible.

The EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ) + ECAL Lab (Ecole Cantonal d'Art de Lausanne), directed by Nicolas Henchoz, resumed a few years ago the researches about this topic, developing a design exhibition currently on at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

"Sous pression, le bois densifié" moves from Navi's research to explore the future application of wood and the potential of the technique of densifying this material.

The exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs is divided in two sections, allowing visitors to explore historical contexts and technical developments regarding wood between the 19th and 20th centuries through a selection of furniture pieces by different designers including Alvar Aalto, Charles Eames and Grete Jalk.

The second section focuses instead on the creations of five designers - Big Game (Grégoire Jean Monod, Eric Petit and Augustin Scott de Martinville), Normal Studio (Jean- François Dingjian and Eloi Chafaï), Lea Longis, Paul Cocksedge and Chris Kabel - who experimented with densified wood.

The objects featured in this section go from Big Game's doorknob with a complex form fully densified near the axis to achieve greater strength and finesse possible, to Normal Studio's headphones combining densification with transformation of form and texture; from boxes inspired by the Romantic period (Longis Léa) to a complex nutcracker of densified wood that symbolises cannibalism (a tree that breaks its own fruit and eats it, as designer Chris Kabel puts it).

There is also one project related to fashion: London-based designer Paul Cocksedge explored themes of strength and fineness in the densification process coming up with "Pressure Point", a shoe with a spruce high heel with a varying densification from the base to the tip. This difference in structure is shown not only by the shape of the heel itself, but also in the shoe's leather: the organic pattern on the leather is indeed the microscope image of the wood structure before and after densification (produced by Dr Tauno Jalanti - Microscan Service SA).

The design exploration conducted by this project is intriguing since it can lead to new and visually striking interpretations of a traditional material. In most of the designs showcased the fibres follow indeed the shape and silhouettes of the object and the texture is soft and polished. The final effects obtained make you naturally wonder what may be the applications of wood densification in future not just for what regards interior design or architecture, but fashion as well.