WOWood UK

Useful information

Team members: Monica Landivar Tom Green Tiziana Dironco Cesare Cardia Melanie Glöckler Kamila Izykowicz Zoe Powell
Country: United Kingdom
Keywords: biomaterials natural binder 100% natural wood waste timber waste workshop waste natural MDF acoustic panels sawdust bark local materials biomaterial

Short Description

Wowood is a 100% biodegrade material using wood waste and natural binders

Detailed Description

Our (ultimate) goal is to disrupt the particleboard supply chain and industry which currently uses new timber and synthetic binders to create a material which is not recyclable or regenerative by design.
The use of wood waste and natural binders allows the natural particle board, acoustic and panel designs to be integrated back into nature’s material loop.
It is produced currently produced in a benchtop format within makerspaces and wood workshops.

Project Details

Does your design take social and cultural challenges and human wellbeing into consideration?: The project shows the small development that can begin by making changes to the social issues of throwaway culture and disposal of waste. By introducing it into spaces which are commonly in contact with materials and often places of disseminations of information about their use, we can support longer term cultural changes surrounding material waste.

Does your design support sustainable production, embodying circular or regenerative design practices?: The method of production is regenerative by design as the binder for the waste wood uses life-friendly chemistry principles to create the bond between the wood chips, sawdust or fibres. This means the bond is not permanent and can be recycled back into nature which would use the nutrients contained in each component. It is also an accessible method for multiple scales of production facilities.

Does your design use principles of distribution and open source?: The design could be replicated and distributed based on the local wood waste resource and local binders which are also from abundant waste resources such as food waste. We aim to have parts of the process accessible to many other makers and designers who wish to adapt the various stages as well as becoming suppliers of the core wood waste resources or the final panel products.

Does your design promote awareness of responsible design and consumption?: The concept of the project embodies the actions we must take to become more responsible for the materials which we consume and where they end up