Sustainability in the Spotlight – Seat at the Table Presented by AHEC and Riva 1920

AHEC and Italian furniture maker Riva 1920 jointly presented Seat at the Table at the recent Triennale Milano. The program, which focuses on promoting underused American hardwoods, showcased the work and designs of four emerging Italian design talents, who were given the rare opportunity to convert their idea into a prototype.

This year at Triennale Milano, sustainability commanded the spotlight. Between 3rd and 12th June, the design and art museum was the venue for a novel program, christened Seat at the Table, organised jointly by AHEC (American Hardwood Export Council) and renowned Italian furniture maker Riva 1920. The initiative aimed at discovering emerging design talents from Italy, giving four designers a platform to exhibit their work and ideas and, ultimately, realise a prototype in solid wood. The intent was to promote the use of three sustainable American hardwood species: American red oak, cherry and maple.

Seat at the Table is a response to ever-increasing global environmental challenges, specifically the overdependence on a niche selection of wood species that puts excessive stress on the supply chain.

Seat at the Table was a response to ever-increasing global environmental challenges, specifically the overdependence on a niche selection of wood species that puts excessive stress on the supply chain. Despite making up 40% of the naturally regenerating American hardwood reserve, and being equally high on performance and aesthetics, red oak, cherry and maple are underused in Europe. By introducing new designers to the wonders of these hardwoods, AHEC hopes to kindle a gentle revolution in sustainability among young designers.

The program honoured four designers – namely, Ilenia Viscardi, Federico Degioanni, Matteo Benedetti and Alessandro Gazzardi – with the opportunity to translate their ideas into hardwood prototypes. Ilenia Viscardi found expression in maple and presented Alter Ego, a heather-hued table with fairy-wing legs, curved lines and symmetrical forms, which together projected a collective embodiment of infinity. Federico Degioanni’s Libra table, meanwhile, was an opus in red oak. With the lower half emblematic of a tapered body and the top reminiscent of wings, the table was stylised like a dragonfly as a nod to nature.

By introducing new designers to the wonders of these hardwoods, AHEC hopes to kindle a gentle revolution in sustainability among young designers.

Matteo Benedetti’s Navalia table, crafted of red oak, was made ‘via di levare’, a technique where blocks of wood are carved and refined until the final shape is achieved. The name knocks back to the nautical world, and by extension also the aeronautical world, where the profiles and shapes of objects straddle form and function. The fourth and last design was the Morsi table by Alessandro Gazzardi, which featured an American cherry build with simple workmanship. Designed to be easily assembled without tools, the concept took a leaf from the classic carpenter’s bench. The legs were secured to the top with a countersunk dovetail joint – a modern reimagination of a traditional joint – which allowed the joint to maintain its binding properties while facilitating assembly.

The collaborative initiative represented both AHEC and Riva 1920’s shared renewed impetus to keep hitherto forgotten hardwoods at the forefront of design. For the young designers, Seat at the Table marked a cornerstone of their practice of sustainable craftsmanship.