On entering the National Hall at Olympia in London, straight ahead is a sculptural rotunda clad in plates of American cherry and of maple. On further investigation, the visitor goes inside and is offered the opportunity to take one of the plates and fill it with a range of nuts before going out to explore the rest of the exhibition. The “Rotunda Serotina” is an initiative by the American Hardwood Export Council, designers Kolman Boye and furniture makers Benchmark for AHEC and Wallpaper and, by the end of the two day exhibition, the timber plates will have disappeared off to homes and offices all over Europe (including mine) and all that will be left will be an empty skeletal frame. The American cherry and maple are two of the world’s fastest-growing temperate hardwoods and, such are the size of the forests, that it took only 40 seconds to grow the timber for the “Rotonda Serotina”.
The focus on the beauty and versatility of timber is a theme of ARCHITECT@WORK 2016, continuing with a substantial display by SCIN Gallery and Materials Library and Resource on the character and versatility of this natural material and on some of the art and crafts that have been created from it including Evan James Design’s undulating waves in walnut, Shellshock Design’s panel of reclaimed wood from old Chinese ships and 3D Factory’s wood panels. Dukta has created a curving twisted knot while modern 3D printing has been used by Microworkshops, showing how timber can be crafted with new technological techniques in the 21st century. Martin Tomsky’s laser cut panels has hints of work from a previous civilisation and Chatwin Martin has used coloured sycamore to create interior stripes and exterior waves on the elliptical bowl.
The main area has exhibitors from across the UK and Europe in groups of four, showing what is new and innovative in materials, surface finishes, lighting, intelligent controls and architectural elements such as doors, windows and staircases. Timber has a major presence including Cabuy Didier’s oak flooring that has knocks and damage suggesting previous used in old factories, Kebony’s sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood. Keung’s timber-clad saunas for the health-conscious, Maxzara’s American walnut herringbone flooring and wood veneers from Mehling & Weismann.
With a black and white design theme through the exhibition, there are many spaces for relaxing and for discussion with World Architecture providing a wall of 50 projects along the full length of the exhibition ending at the RIBA’s pop-up bookshop.
The exhibition moves across Europe during 2016 to another 11 countries in Europe from Istanbul to Spain but judging by the accents and languages at the starter in London, many architects from those countries had decided to visit here.
