The Installation, MultiPly, explored how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative and affordable construction
TACOMA, Wash. (October 2, 2018) – If you happened to be in London between September 15 to 23, you may have had the opportunity to check out the London Design Festival which celebrates and promotes London as the design capital of the world and hosts the single largest collection of international exhibitions, designers, brands, country pavilions, features and galleries at various venues and institutions during the 9-day event.
Through its membership with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), which promotes American hardwoods overseas and is a partner of The London Design Festival, Northwest Hardwoods donated American tulipwood for a pavilion installation called MultiPly that was featured in the Sackler courtyard of the Victoria & Albert Museum in Knightsbridge during the festival. MultiPly was the collaboration between Waugh Thistleton Architects, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and ARUP Group.
MultiPly explored a new, more sustainable way of building that showcased the structural, aesthetic and environmental properties of American tulipwood cross-laminated timber panels (CLT). American tulipwood is one of many American hardwoods that AHEC promotes to other countries and is one of the widely available and sustainable hardwood species from the U.S. hardwood forests, and is unique to North America.
According to Andrew Waugh, co-founder of Waugh Thistleton Architects which designed MultiPly, the goal of the installation was to “provoke a debate around how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative, affordable construction.”
The 9-meter high, three-dimensional MultiPly structure featured a maze-like series of interconnected spaces that overlapped and intertwined and took visitors through a series of stairs, corridors and open spaces. The installation was meant to invite visitors to explore the potential of wood in architecture.
Photo credit: Northwest Hardwoods
MultiPly represented the merger of modular systems and sustainable construction materials as a solution. To date, most CLT has been made in softwood, but AHEC is increasingly exploring and promoting hardwood as an engineered wood option, with its own unique performance and environmental advantages.
The structure also highlighted two of this generation’s biggest challenges: the urgent need for housing and ways to combat climate change. “We are at a crisis point in terms of both housing and CO2 emissions and we believe that building in a versatile, sustainable material such as tulipwood is an important way of addressing these issues,” said Waugh.
About Northwest Hardwoods
Northwest Hardwoods, Inc., with approximately 1,600 employees, is the leading manufacturer of high quality hardwood lumber in North America. It manufactures and sells 14 species of American hardwood lumber, imports and distributes over 25 species of exotic hardwoods and sources both appearance and structural plywood. Operations include a network of fifteen primary sawmills, five concentration yards, one remanufacturing plant and regional warehouse locations to serve our customer base. For more information, please visit www.northwesthardwoods.com.
About the London Design Festival
The London Design Festival runs concurrently with the London Design Fair, a four-day industry event that brings together 550 exhibitors from 36 countries, including: independent designers, established brands, international country pavilions, features and exhibitions. Each year, over 28,000 influential retail buyers, producers, architects, designers, interior designers, press and design-savvy public, will attend to see the very latest in furniture, lighting, textiles, materials and conceptual installations, from all around the world.
