Seeing the forest for the trees : New Directions in Sustainable Design

John Makepeace OBE with Glenn Adamson and Johanna Agerman Ross
March 10, 2022

Our latest Webinar is hosted by critic, curator and author Glenn Adamson in discussion with Johanna Agerman Ross of the V&A and John Makepeace OBE about the evolving relationship between British forestry and contemporary design.

 

This webinar coincides with the recent launch of a V&A decade-long project dedicated to exploring the use of renewable, natural materials and the future of sustainable forestry in design and architecture.

‘In recent years, the science of complementary materials has alerted me to the potential for complementing timber’s best properties with other materials that enable us to achieve higher levels of performance than had been possible before.

This has naturally led me to a greater engagement with forestry, and a growing concern about the quality of management of extensive woodlands funded by private donations and backed by Government, yet neglected to the point of collapse through the lack of management. Tree-planting has huge potential benefits, but only through management/Nurture do trees produce quality timber of economic and social value to this and subsequent generations.’ -
John Makepeace OBE,  extract from a recent interview with Sarah Myerscough Gallery for the exhibition Nature//Nurture at Collect Art Fair 2022