As a response to the need for behavioral change brought about by the pandemic, AHEC challenged three prominent Emirati designers to develop versatile public seating solutions in thermally-modified American Hardwoods.
Social distancing – a captivating oxymoron coined to reference the space we need to leave between each other – has begun to dominate the way we live and the decisions we make. While incredibly important in the fight against the spread of the virus, it also curbs our freedom of choice and forces us to behave in an unnatural way. People are social by nature and regulations that inhibit normal social behavior do not come naturally.
In response to this, three prominent Emirati designers – Aljoud Lootah, Khalid Shafar, Hamad Khoory and their teams – were invited by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) to each design and develop a Hardwood bench for outdoor use in a public space. The bench needed to be designed in such a way that people who sit on it are forced to separate by the current social distancing minimum of 2 meters. This would negate the need for warning signs and allow for people to sit in a relaxed way without having to think about whether they are too close to the next person. However, the design of the bench would also allow for conversion to accommodate more people, closer together, as and when the time comes for social distancing regulations to be relaxed. This will ensure that the benches retain a legacy as functional public seating in the future.
Please Sit Here draws inspiration from the AHEC’s many high-profile and ambitious collaborations to date, in the UAE and also in Europe, Australia and South Africa. These projects have included multiple design teams, imaginative briefs, innovative designs and the very best of wood craftsmanship, to celebrate the beauty, performance and sustainability of American Hardwoods.
Because the benches are for outdoor use, the Maple and Red Oak offered was thermally-modified, involving high heat in a vacuum, carried out after normal kiln drying. Thermally-modified timber (TMT) is ideal for exterior application, as it has both increased durability and dimensional stability. Thermally-modified American Hardwoods are suitable for applications such as cladding, decking and shading structures, as well as in outdoor furniture and their environmental impact is extremely low. While this material is not yet used widely in the Middle East, it has so much to offer as a natural and low-environmental impact alternative to many other wood and non-wood products.
Using material volume data collected by the UAE-based manufacturers – Urban Studio and Alfa Interiors & Furniture – and based on AHEC’s Life Cycle Assessment tool, it has calculated that all the Maple and Red Oak used to make the three benches would be replaced in the U.S. Hardwood forest through natural regeneration in just 5.8 seconds. At the same time, for the duration of their existence, the three benches will keep approximately 1 metric ton of CO2 equivalent out of the atmosphere.
For more information on AHEC and its global promotion programs for American Hardwoods, please visit our website at www.americanhardwood.org or contact International Program Manager Tripp Pryor at tpryor@ahec.org.
