Uit Belgische Tuin / From Belgium Garden

Dijk 2860

From Belgium Garden is a research project on the value of local garden wood. Garden wood is usually used for low-value applications such as firewood or woodchips. In this project, garden wood is highly valued by manufacturing it into furniture. To ensure the local story of garden wood, the value chain of the wood was unravelled. What is the place of origin? Why was the tree cut down? Who owned the wood? Where was the wood sawn and dried? After collecting all this necessary information, I designed two pieces of furniture from the garden wood. For the design, it was essential to make the garden wood as visible as possible. From the design of the furniture, the user should be able to experience the material as deeply as possible. To make this possible, a thorough analysis of the wood's properties, cracks and imperfections was done.

The unique shape of the planks and the process the material went through were translated into two pieces of furniture. The stool and side table tell the unique and specific story of the material they are made of. Dijk 2860 is the name of this stool and side table and refers to its place of origin. The furniture consists entirely of red beech taken from a garden in Straat Dijk in Sint Katelijne Waver ( postal code 2860). To make the furniture entirely out of garden wood, wood-on-wood joints were used. Additions of screws or glue were therefore not necessary. Carved on the underside of the furniture are symbols representing the steps from tree to furniture. The steps include the origin, felling and sawing of the tree, drying of the planks and crafting into a piece of furniture. The accompanying website www.stijnjeanvos.com also shows the different steps the furniture has taken. So you know with certainty that this furniture is From Belgium Garden.