When Sebastian Cox talks about his sustainable wood furniture, he references coppiced hazel as his primary working material. The term coppiced is a new one for me, which lead to a little investigation into the practice. “Coppicing is the art of cutting of trees and shrubs to ground level allowing vigorous regrowth and a sustainable supply of timber for future generations. Trees and shrubs that are cut down this way can produce shoots that grow over 30cm in a week and a coppiced tree can live many times longer than if the the tree had not been cut down at all.”

Silviculture. Designed by Sebastian Cox.

This reminds me of an interesting debate on allowing the healthy burning of forests to encourage regrowth and renewal. As we try to protect homes that are built in forests, we are discouraging the natural cleaning processes. Coppicing is a safe alternative that creates faster growing trees for sustainable forestry.

Sebastian Cox is a University of Lincoln graduate who was presented at New Designers in London and seen on Dezeen. His collection entitled Silviculture features two chairs, a lamp and a hat stand made from unseasoned coppiced hazel wood. The collection is meant to promote the use of hazel for its sustainable properties.

The Suent’ Superlight Chair is made from steam bent hazel and woven hazel with a lacquer finish. The chair is simple and delicate and well as physically lightweight, weighing around 4lbs. The frame is constructed from steam bent hazel that is shaped by hand and connected using mortise and tenon joints. The seat is made from woven green hazel that is designed to be removable so it can be easily replaced.

The Kerf Chair is a series of louvers that are made of sawn hazel branches which are joined to the frame without glue. As the wood dries and shrinks, the pieces are locked together and the entire chair is strengthened. Sebastian Cox aims to create lightweight designs with environmentally benign materials and low impact processes, a goal which has clearly been achieved by Silviculture.