Inspired by the self-healing process of trees Manufract has created a new and unique furniture line. If a tree gets injured, it will naturally release resin to close the wound. The natural concept of wound healing is used for the manufacturing process of these products. Broken pieces of wood are form filled with an eco-resin to get the full, final shape. Each piece is carefully selected from broken hardwood stock. It is then manually crafted and hand polished.

Originally owned by the client’s grandmother, the residence in the quiet Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra has been re-designed by those architects to facilitate the lifestyle of the young family who resides today. The architects discussed with the clients about how they wanted to use the house and they came to a conclusion. The property needed to be flexible, robust and light. It had to be suitable for a young family, and remain adaptable as their family grows, while also providing them the ability to entertain family and friends. Being surrounded by natural light and fresh air was another key component of the brief.

To facilitate the requirements, strategies such as having the living areas brought down to be at the same level with the outdoors, a new courtyard between the existing house and a new addition for more sunlight, and the addition of a galley style kitchen that connects into the rear of the old house and looks into the courtyard outside. The kitchen is linked to the living and dining areas of the home through a concrete bench that extends the full length of the living space. The bench provides out-of-sight storage for AV equipment, books, toys and firewood below as well as providing additional seating for the living area.

Meet the science nerds in Georgia who re-forge abandoned scrap metal into blades with a multi-year waiting list. For more on their process click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-11-02/made-bloodroot-blades-forges-knives-from-scrap-metal

In collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto’s forest conservation organization More Trees, architect Kengo Kuma has designed a set of triangular-shaped modular pieces. Called Tsumiki, a name that means ‘wooden blocks’ in Japanese,  the individual components can be stacked and assembled in a variety of ways, allowing the user to create original sculptures.

Tsumiki will soon be available to buy in Japan.

Cardboard Chaos is at it again! This episode they are working with the Fender Custom Shop to see if paper has the ability to handle the look, feel and sound of one of the world’s most recognizable guitars, the Fender Stratocaster. Anything in cardboard can look good, but will it sound good? It’s a tall order and with roughly 250 lbs of torque put on the neck of a guitar from the strings there are some obvious challenges at hand.

Visually understated, purely graphic, sharply geometric, the WALD HI-LO Lamp is the development and refinement on the original WALD Plug Lamp. With improved functionality and unified materials the HI-LO is fully dimmable and makes a impression in any space. 

A how-to video showing some hexagon shaped coasters that snap together using magnets. 

In the thousands of years since, craftspeople have developed an almost absurd variety of joints, some of which you learned in the shop at school, some of which you've never heard of, and that one that you can always see in your head but have forgotten the name of. To help you remember for the next time you're building something out of wood, or to give you some alternatives for any current designs you're working on, here are some visual guides:

Eco-friendly due to its up-cycled method of materiality, The ‘Grably’ is designed with longer, thicker teeth with increased spacing between them. The No.15 allows you to tackle your long, thick, curly beard with ease.

Within the Malaysian town of Butterworth, Kuala Lumpur-based architect and artist Jun Ong has embedded a five-story lighting installation within the core of an unfinished concrete building. Spanning the full height of the architectural skeleton, ‘star’ pierces through several floors of the disused structure to form a 12-sided, three-dimensional object.

This carefully crafted organizer for jewelry and accessories asked three questions in the design process: Can it be accessible from and angle? Can it be easy to move and transport? Can it be durable while achieving the first two objectives?

While the form can be compact, solid oak trays can be rotated giving the piece a certain adaptive and sculptural quality. A solid base keeps the piece bottom-heavy so there is no need to worry about it tipping or falling.

Victor Papanek, along with co-author and fellow designer James Hennessey, released Nomadic Furniture in 1973. Their book shared with readers "How to build and where to buy lightweight furniture that folds, inflates, knocks down, stacks, or is disposable and can be recycled," and was loaded with diagrams of DIY plans to that effect.

Cóm-oda is a set of folded chairs, that when they are not in use, shape a singular bench. 

Based by the western coast of the island of Pico, in the Portuguese Azores, FFC Arquitectura were charged with the transformation and expansion of the ‘Cella Bar’. While preserving the distinct features of the existing building, the extension saw a contemporary addition being merged with the original building. This juxtaposition has introduced a sculptural language into the local context. The organic and orthogonal form uses basalt (volcanic rock of the region), concrete and the exterior presents a woven timber texture. As well as sourcing local materials, the design of the scheme references the outline of the island, the rocks, whales and wine casks.

During the inaugural Dubai Design week, a series of installations placed in strategic locations around the city highlight renowned international and local design talent. As an exploration of tradition coupled with contemporary aesthetic techniques, Dubai-based designer Aljoud Lootah presents a sculptural project for both the creative community and passersby on the city’s beach by Meraas. Drawing insight from the local heritage, craftspeople and everyday practices, Lootah has based the installation ‘Yaroof’ off of a type of traditional fishing from the region.

Linear friction welding is something people already use to turn two pieces of metal into one piece of metal. But for reasons unbeknownst, it works with lumber too.

Located 16km away from the Vietnamese city of Da Nang is the bamboo crafted conference hall by Vo Trong Nghia. Being one of the first buildings to greet visitors into the resort, its prominent location is combined with a fully glass facade- emphasizing the eminent use of bamboo techniques.

It is a debate that has raged for decades among architects and architectural journalists alike: how can words encapsulate the intricacies of the built environment without becoming stuck in a quagmire of esoteric sound bites and pretentious clichés?

Here are ten pointers, in no particular order, for your consideration.

CorkNet has been specially design to work on any table. The free-standing design makes it mobile so that you can play virtually anywhere. According to designer Julian Bond, it all began with a simple idea of making a table tennis net easy to use and useful when you aren’t playing.  The net, which is made of cork, can also be used as a trivet for your table.

The Art of Ping Pong is a collaboration between Fivefootsix and some of the most exciting, influential and upcoming artists and illustrators creating a series of bespoke ping pong paddles to raise money for BBC Children in Need.

Explaining a 3-way joint also known as a Kawai Tsugite, Matthias Wandel demonstrates how to construct one with wooden blocks.

A series of images from my recent trip to the Olympic Peninsula; I became fascinated with natural patterns and the differing quality of light found in the rainforest.  

Steve Wintercroft and his wife, Marianne have been designing and supplying unique masks to creative people and festival goers around the globe since 2013. The paper masks idea comes from Steve’s own need for a Halloween costume one year. Eventually the goal became to create a set of masks that could be built by anyone, using local materials, removing the need for mass manufacturing or shipping and with a minimal environmental impact. 

The ‘L shelf’ is the newest edition to the studio Objet Optimisé’s line-up; a single modular unit that is capable of infinite replication. Made of a piece of bent plywood, the ‘L’ is playful and adaptable.