9. Knock on Wood
Year: 2024
Material: Lignin, recycled cellulose
Unique design pieces resulting out of the ‘Tree-ism’ research.
European Spruce (Picea Abies) has evergreen leaves and likes to grow in deep, wet soils.
When cut down for consumption it can be turned into wood chips, and then into cellulose fiber by ways of extracting a brownish substance called lignin.
This project harnesses the potential of cellulose and lignin, the most abundant natural polymers on Earth, whose natural connection was broken by the advent of industrial production. While the former has been overused by the paper and textile industry, the latter remains largely untested. As an underused by-product, it is often burned in thermal treatment facilities.
However, in this series cellulose and lignin are rematerialised to create a new kind of wood, embodying traces of the tree they come from. In ancient cultures it was believed that spirits of forests reside in trees, knocking on wood was an act of wishing well and saying thanks.
