Words on Wood

Dec 11 2024 29 ep. 23 mins 8

Words on Wood Podcast artwork

This podcast offers a deep dive into some of the big issues surrounding forests and our relationship to them and serves as a platform for cross-disciplinary discussion. Drawing on the work of scientists, conservationists, forestry professionals, academics, designers and architects, Words on Wood is a space for frank reflection on the challenges and opportunities presented by working with forests.

Created in conjunction with Disegno, the Quarterly Journal of Design.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

S4E6: Stewards of The Forest

Dec 11 2024 32 mins

Forests take up about 30% of the earth’s surface and come in many shapes, sizes and types. From chilly boreal forests in the north, to temperate forests, dry forests, mangroves, rainforests and more, each forest has specific needs and nuances, and faces its own ecological challenges. Around the world, there are communities and teams of people who oversee forests, ensuring th

Making Shorts: Staining wood

Nov 21 2024 13 mins

Staining wood is a complex and often laborious process that requires careful thought from designers and makers. Considering the complexities involved, and the fact that natural wood is beautiful in and of itself, this Making short explores the benefits wood staining can offer for designers.When done right, staining beautifully enhances the intricate and unique characteristics of wo

S4E5: Responding to a changing climate

Oct 29 2024 30 mins

We’re probably all aware that climate change is having, and will have, a big effect on our forests. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and rising temperatures give way to adverse consequences such as droughts and fires, causing rapid tree mortality rates. So, how can we plan for the future to ensure these forests, in the face of climate collapse, are around for

Making shorts: Working by hand

Oct 16 2024 15 mins

Trees have been a principal building material for most of human history, with archaeological findings showing that humans were using stone axes as early as 40,000 years ago.With the advent of machinery during the Industrial Revolution making woodworking more efficient and accessible, this Making short episode asks why a designer today might opt for hand working over industrialised

S4E2: A Timber Curriculum with Judith Lösing, Hanif Kara and Kenn Busch

Mar 21 2024 23 mins

Our next instalment of Words on Wood revisits education, this time examining whether there is a need for a more robust curriculum around timber and its properties within architecture courses. The guests all straddle the architectural and education spaces and bring some really good insights into areas that are working, and some not so well, within architectural education. Oli and Ev

Making shorts: Chainsaw carving

Feb 07 2024 14 mins

Building on the success of previous seasons’ ‘Tree Shorts’, this season introduces a new series of ‘Making Shorts’. These bite-sized episodes zoom into production techniques for timber, providing concise case studies through interviews with designers on the making processes behind specific projects. In this episode, we speak with Norwegian designer-maker Anna Maria �

Making shorts: CNC milling

Jan 12 2024 19 mins

Building on the success of previous seasons’ ‘Tree Shorts’, this season introduces a new series of ‘Making Shorts’. These bite-sized episodes zoom into production techniques for timber, providing concise case studies through interviews with designers on the making processes behind specific projects. Travelling to Australia, the first Making Short of the season focuse

S4E1: The Value of Veneers with Cathy Danzer, Rio Kobayashi and Jorge Penadés

Dec 14 2023 28 mins

Delving deep into the world of wood, featuring unexpected and timely topics from across forestry, architecture and design, the award-winning podcast Words on Wood has returned for a fourth season.A collaboration between the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and Disegno, Words on Wood launched in 2021 as an upfront and wide-ranging end-to-end exploration of all things wood-rel

Special episode: A Trillion Trees with Fred Pearce

Mar 27 2023 44 mins

In the final episode of Words on Wood season 3, we are joined by multi award-winning science and environmental writer, Fred Pearce. Fred’s groundbreaking work covering the natural world spans at least 15 books. We sit down to discuss the topics behind his latest book, “A Trillion Trees”, which gives a fascinating insight to how the world’s forests can be restored witho

S3E4: The Wooden Hospital with Ab Rogers and Eleanor Brough

Feb 17 2023 28 mins

The series concludes by venturing into ‘The Wooden Hospital’. Starting with the work of architect Ab Rogers, who won the 2021 Wolfson Economic Prize 2021 for his radical approach towards reformulating hospital design, the episode looks at whether our existing healthcare spaces are fit for purpose. Could wood be the key to redesigns that create more humane and compassionate faci