All Things Considered

Plywood
Posted by Kate Sullivan

As a material, the versatility of plywood is hard to beat. It can be bent to form strong, aesthetically pleasing objects from the old skool school chair to a classic Eames creation or a canteen tray to a skate board.

Invented in the 1850’s plywood consists of layers of veneer sandwiched together, each layer’s wood grain runs opposite to the next making it very strong and stable. The 1850’s heralded its commercial birth as a material suitable for furniture applications when a German emigre to the US, John Henry Belter, developed a heat process to bend the plywood in three dimensions. Further improvements to this technique came with research by the aviation industry during World War 1.

Plywood became a cheap and accessible material for 20th century designers such as Alvar Aalto and later Charles and Ray Eames. After falling out of favour in the 60’s and 70’s, due in part to the popularity of plastic, it wasn't until the late eighties before designers started to appreciate this material once more.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on October 29th, 2007