Entries are now open for the Timber Trade Federation’s Conversations about Climate Change design competition and exhibition

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In a bid to show the importance of our natural resource, the Timber Trade Federation’s Conversations about Climate Change competition tasks architects, designers, and craftspeople with creating innovative, playful, and thought-provoking designs using responsibly sourced tropical timber.

Throughout November the Building Centre in London will host the six winning designs, in addition to an online gallery, opening on 5 November. This was originally designed to coincide with COP26, the UN climate change talks, which were to be hosted by the UK Government in November, and have since been postponed due to COVID. Embarking upon 2020 – a ‘Super Year’ for climate conversation, one of the main areas of focus is ‘nature-based solutions’ along with how to decarbonise our material world. Using sustainable timber is key to both goals.

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Hosting a design-based competition enables the Timber Trade Federation to provide a platform for discussion and debate around these themes, as well as demonstrate what designs can be achieved through the use of timber and its incredible versatility as a material.

“We have focused on tropical timber as this is the main area that needs attention internationally”, explains David Hopkins, CEO of the Timber Trade Federation. “We are trying to encourage better and more responsible sourcing of product, along with better understanding of the UK and EU’s FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) Action Plan. FLEGT is designed to improve governance and management of forests in the tropics, encouraging investment and trade as a result. We’re very much in favour.”

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Research shows that timber harvesting from sustainable forest management sources will actually keep the forests standing – provided that governance and legal reforms are in place. We can support this by keeping trade alive and money flowing back to those making the positive changes,” Hopkins continues. “Design entries must address the role of FLEGT – the UK and EU’s Action Plan to combat illegal logging, subsequent trade, and deforestation – in ensuring legal and sustainable forestry and timber supply.”

“Entitled ‘Conversations about Climate Change’, we want people to come up with design ideas that stimulate conversation and encourage thought about the provenance of materials used in design, their origins, and the impacts they might have”, adds Hopkins. “We’ve intentionally left the brief fairly broad for submissions to foster greater inspiration and creativity. Our only requirement is that the conversation pieces encourage discussion around the role of forestry and timber in the climate emergency. These pieces could be furniture, sculpture, installation, or a functional design object – the world is your oyster!”

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The design project is likely to appeal to interior, product, and furniture designers, as this is the main market for the tropical timber species used in the competition and exhibition. The TTF are hoping that a wide array of designers, architects, and craftspeople will present a full assortment of ideas. Designs entered can be up to two-square metres by three-metres high. The nature of tropical hardwood lends itself to luxury high-end design rather than huge buildings schemes.

With an ambition to help specifiers learn more about what products are available, their origins, how they grow and their applications for use, the TTF has created factsheets and technical information for the designers to work from, as well as e-learning packages about the FLEGT Action Plan.

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The competition has been marketed and advertised to stakeholders and partners across Europe, and in the15 Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) countries, so that designers in producing countries can also enter. A VPA is a bilateral trade agreement between the EU and timber-exporting countries outside the EU, undergoing legal and governance reforms over forest management, culminating in FLEGT-licensing.

Six competition winners will be provided with responsibly sourced tropical hardwood from Timber Trade Federation members and verified from countries working towards FLEGT-licensing; a £1,000 maker’s bursary; and where necessary matched up with British workshops where their designs will be developed and fabricated.

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The TTF and Building Centre have announced their expert judging panel, which  includes Adam Brinkworth of Brinkworth, Yinka Ilori of Yinka Ilori Studio, Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield, Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects, and Leah Riley Brown of the British Retail Consortium. They will be joining David Hopkins, CEO of the Timber Trade Federation and Vanessa Norwood, Creative Director of the Building Centre.

Conversations about Climate Change is part of the Timber Trade Federation’s wider FLEGT communications program funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID).

Contact Details
To enter, find out more, and read the supporting resources, please click here. The closing date for entries is 24 August.