Comments on: Bow-Wow Stool by Morten Emil Engel http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/ architecture and design magazine Fri, 24 May 2013 12:52:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Matt http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/comment-page-1/#comment-379318 Matt Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:20:16 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/#comment-379318 Relax people! I hate waste of wood, but you have to pay attention to the photos posted before you attack the manufacturing of this stool. First take a look at the stool being shaped. The CNC machine cuts around the legs and leaves a good solid chunk of wood that is suitable for other furniture parts. It is not necessarily a waste. All in all you would probably be surprised how little waste there is making this stool compared to traditionally manufactured furniture. Milling of wood takes quite a bit of material before it is fully usable for furniture construction. I suggest that you visit a dump site that takes yard and garden trash. If you are so concerned about wasting good wood your heart will soon bleed. Whole trees are chopped up and not used for anything else than mulch. I don't know about you, but I would rather have these stools than mulch. It is too easy to be a tree-hugger from your living-room and criticizing designer and manufacturer. Relax people! I hate waste of wood, but you have to pay attention to the photos posted before you attack the manufacturing of this stool. First take a look at the stool being shaped. The CNC machine cuts around the legs and leaves a good solid chunk of wood that is suitable for other furniture parts. It is not necessarily a waste. All in all you would probably be surprised how little waste there is making this stool compared to traditionally manufactured furniture. Milling of wood takes quite a bit of material before it is fully usable for furniture construction.
I suggest that you visit a dump site that takes yard and garden trash. If you are so concerned about wasting good wood your heart will soon bleed. Whole trees are chopped up and not used for anything else than mulch. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have these stools than mulch.

It is too easy to be a tree-hugger from your living-room and criticizing designer and manufacturer.

]]> By: Jhon http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/comment-page-1/#comment-356739 Jhon Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:03:13 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/#comment-356739 People seem to confuse regular forest farming with the logging of rainforests. People seem to confuse regular forest farming with the logging of rainforests.

]]> By: Jhon http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/comment-page-1/#comment-356737 Jhon Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:55:53 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/#comment-356737 Most oak (at least in europe) that is cut down is industrial oak. Planted to be used for shipbuilding in the 19th century. As long as you replace the tree you cut down you dont loose trees. This have been done for hundreds of years becouse its economicaly stustainable. In sweden, where im from, 98% of the trees are planted. In europe today there are 2 times as many trees as it where during the ww2. Cutting down a tree can be compared to harversting crops. The "waste" material as you call it can be used for energy production or other wooden products such as masonite or OSB. To say that the use of wood in this chair is not environmentaly sustainable is nothing but a lie. Most oak (at least in europe) that is cut down is industrial oak. Planted to be used for shipbuilding in the 19th century. As long as you replace the tree you cut down you dont loose trees. This have been done for hundreds of years becouse its economicaly stustainable.

In sweden, where im from, 98% of the trees are planted. In europe today there are 2 times as many trees as it where during the ww2. Cutting down a tree can be compared to harversting crops.

The “waste” material as you call it can be used for energy production or other wooden products such as masonite or OSB. To say that the use of wood in this chair is not environmentaly sustainable is nothing but a lie.

]]> By: Grig Mitrea http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/comment-page-1/#comment-318513 Grig Mitrea Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:01:23 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/#comment-318513 This is not sustainable in may ways. It does not use a wood that would grow back quickly . it does not do much, as far as I can tell, with the waste wood. On top of the fact that is using thick oak that grows slow it uses solid wood that will most certainly crack badly in a few years and the chair will need to be replaced. It looks heavy and not very comfortable. The shape is nice but it is not breathtaking. This is not a cradle to cradle product - you can't just melt it and make a new chair when it cracks. Wise and labour intensive joinery would make it more durable in time and less wasteful in material. Designers and craftsmen and architects and engineers and forest stewards have to work together and get information from one another to produce something sustainable and durable. This is not sustainable in may ways. It does not use a wood that would grow back quickly . it does not do much, as far as I can tell, with the waste wood.
On top of the fact that is using thick oak that grows slow it uses solid wood that will most certainly crack badly in a few years and the chair will need to be replaced. It looks heavy and not very comfortable. The shape is nice but it is not breathtaking.
This is not a cradle to cradle product – you can’t just melt it and make a new chair when it cracks.
Wise and labour intensive joinery would make it more durable in time and less wasteful in material.
Designers and craftsmen and architects and engineers and forest stewards have to work together and get information from one another to produce something sustainable and durable.

]]> By: Jeremiah http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/comment-page-1/#comment-314380 Jeremiah Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:31:36 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2009/08/27/bow-wow-stool-by-morten-emil-engel/#comment-314380 The big issue here is not that it is made from a solid piece of wood. It's that it is made from a solid piece of oak; a tree that, under the best of circumstances, grows 1 cm in diameter per year. The wood for that stool is from a tree that is likely to have been nearly 100 years old. That isn't sustainable. Being natural and compostable is an argument that can be made of ANY object made from wood. That certainly doesn't make it sustainable. By no means am I saying this is the only project that makes this kind of claim either, and as for the design I think it is very beautiful. We all need to consider the costs of our designs, both upstream and downstream. The big issue here is not that it is made from a solid piece of wood. It’s that it is made from a solid piece of oak; a tree that, under the best of circumstances, grows 1 cm in diameter per year. The wood for that stool is from a tree that is likely to have been nearly 100 years old. That isn’t sustainable. Being natural and compostable is an argument that can be made of ANY object made from wood. That certainly doesn’t make it sustainable.

By no means am I saying this is the only project that makes this kind of claim either, and as for the design I think it is very beautiful. We all need to consider the costs of our designs, both upstream and downstream.

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