Working with Timber and Sustainable Materials

Episode 44. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman and George Morgan. Studio Weave founding director Je Ahn explains the challenges of sourcing timber from London’s streets and parks.

He describes how he translated the ambition of using local timber from London’s trees into reality at Lea Bridge Library Pavilion despite the fact that no sales channel existed for sourcing local timber and the need to prove its chain of custody because it had no FSC certification.

We also discuss how working with found materials requires a willingness and ability to improvise as a designer and creates new aesthetic opportunities. In the case of Lea Bridge Library Pavilion, this approach lends warmth and informality to the space. ‘You have to be ready to change your mind to suit the requirement,’ says Ahn.

Ahn describes sustainability as project-specific. ‘I’m very interested in where we get our materials,’ he says, explaining that timber is not always the best solution. It’s all about achieving the right balance for a given project. ‘Whatever I put out in the world has to have a purpose beyond what was initially set out,’ says Ahn.

For show notes and to catch up on all AJ Climate Champions episodes, click here.