During Autumn 2024, the Furniture Studio continued building upon the successes of previous Landscape Furniture Studios. Rather than the traditional approach of having students purchase virgin lumber, UW Landscape Architecture was again able to source lumber from the UW Salvage Wood Program. This approach not only reduces the financial obligations of the students, but also reduces the environmental cost of creating furniture while building interdisciplinary relations across campus. To learn more about our furniture studio course and this unprecedented practice of utilizing salvaged wood, check out our StoryMap created by MLA student Sasha Crawford!*
Furniture For Keeps 2024
The Salvage Wood Program
Since 2009, the UW Salvage Wood Program has been reclaiming felled campus trees that would have otherwise been destined for disposal. The program is managed by UW Facilities Management, and operates several facilities across campus to mill, process, and store salvaged wood. Students in furniture studio were granted backstage access to these facilities to witness the lifecycle of salvage wood firsthand. Morgan Holtz, a UW Facilities worker and manager of the Salvage Wood Program, led a tour of the salvage yard in late September to show students how salvaged wood is milled and then laid out to dry in a wood kiln. In October, he gave another tour of the wood shop to show students where salvaged wood is stored and where custom salvaged wood projects are fabricated.*
*Adapted from “Furniture For Keeps: A New Approach to Sustainable Furniture Fabrication” written by Joanna Chen, published March 22, 2024
Student Work
Following 10 weeks of instruction, the resulting products of furniture studio attest to the success of incorporating salvaged wood into the curriculum.
(Click on each image to expand it)
Special Thanks To:
Steve Withycombe and Marcus Crider (Teaching Staff)
Ken Yocom (Interim Dean of the College of Built Environments)
Rae Moore and Jack Bowen (Fabrication Lab)
Students of Fall 2024 Furniture Studio