Ahec Launches “Connected” At the London Design Museum
Nine imaginative and original tables and seating designs, created by nine leading international designers and beautifully crafted in one of Europe’s top craft workshops, are on show in an installation called Connected, which launched recently at London’s Design Museum. The designers had a choice of three sustainable American Hardwoods to work with – Red Oak, Maple or Cherry. They were also invited to record their creative journeys so that we can see how they approached the brief and developed their designs at a time of limited physical contact.
When the onset of COVID-19 significantly changed the way people live, interact and work, creatives and makers had to adjust their processes using new technologies to work together at a distance and often operate from new, improvised, home offices.
This extraordinary installation showcases the results of a unique experiment which set out to push the boundaries of what is possible with these timbers and to explore how designers and craftspeople adapted their working practices during lockdown.
The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Benchmark Furniture and the Design Museum challenged the designers to create a table and seating for their personal use, to suit their new ways of living at and working from home.
The project demanded that both the designers and craftspeople at Benchmark work innovatively, by relying solely on digital communication and video conferencing to bring the designers’ visions to life. This approach required a new level of trust in the makers, since the designers had no physical contact with their pieces whilst they were being made at Benchmark’s Berkshire workshop during the summer.
The designers involved in Connected are: Ini Archibong (Switzerland), Maria Bruun (Denmark), Jaime Hayon (Spain), Heatherwick Studio (UK), Sebastian Herkner (Germany), Maria Jeglinska-Adamczewska (Poland), Sabine Marcelis (Netherlands), Studiopepe (Italy) and Studio Swine (UK / Japan).
The resulting responses to the brief are incredibly diverse and personal, with a bold array of natural and stained finishes that bring these sustainable timbers to life in a new way. Each of the designs have challenged the making process with their complexity and attention to detail.
“I am blown away by how each designer was given the same brief and we ended up with nine completely different – and incredible – creative interpretations. The performance of these three Hardwoods has been exceptional, and craftspeople at Benchmark have risen to the challenges presented by some complex designs and the results are extraordinary,” says AHEC’s European Director, David Venables. “This is a genuine evolution in how we work: the craftspeople have worked tirelessly with the designers over video conferencing to ensure the exact details are met. And it proves that lockdown doesn’t get in the way of creativity and creation.”
Justin McGuirk, Chief Curator at the Design Museum, adds: “Commissioning nine designers to make furniture from wood doesn’t sound like a particularly original brief. But these are not ordinary times. We are all being overexposed to our homes and having to adapt to new patterns of working. The pandemic has forced each designer to approach their home-working setup with a completely fresh perspective – what do they really need? The Connected project has been a rare opportunity for them to design for them selves, but the key challenge has been that they have had to rely entirely on digital communication. It couldn’t be more relevant and we are delighted with the results.”
As always, with AHEC, the message of sustainability is at the core of the project. “Overall, the project has shown that the process of creating at a distance works and there are some clear benefits in terms of the carbon footprint of a project, especially if you can cut down on international travel,” says Sean Sutcliffe, furniture manufacturer with Benchmark.
