Homegrown timber innovation on display in dRMM’s V&A show

The display brings to life research that the award-winning architects conducted with Edinburgh Napier University scientists into the UK’s most prevalent hardwood species: birch, beech, ash, sycamore, oak, alder and sweet chestnut. As well as producing detailed performance data for each species, the research showed that different timber species can be combined to create hybrid wood systems with specific attributes – paving the way for sustainable new methods of construction.

Exhibits include new “recipes” for engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam – which are strong enough to serve as renewable alternatives to carbon-intensive materials like steel and concrete – using different UK hardwood species. These combinations can be modified depending on local availability and the requirements of the job. Jonas Lencer, director at dRMM reflected, “These prototypes and components, made using UK hardwood and employing local engineering expertise, have the potential to give value to the forests that our bioeconomy needs – and provide an incentive to grow more.”

The components designed by dRMM for the show were made at the innovation lab of Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) and inspired by the lab’s pioneering new tools, among them the largest vacuum press in the UK. Since 2022 dRMM has been working with partners in manufacturing and science to explore how local, climate-resilient, mixed-species forests could shape the ways we design and construct buildings.

Hardwood species make up half of the UK’s woodland, but most currently have little widespread industrial use beyond firewood or biomass. At the same time, most of our timber is imported from softwood plantations abroad. Although conditions in the UK are ideal for mixed-species forests – which are inherently more resilient to pests, disease and climate shifts – the timber resources are significantly under-harvested. This is largely because knowledge of how this hardwood can be used in building is still very limited. By generating data to support strength grading and future application, the project has helped to establish a technical foundation for expanded use of homegrown hardwood.

The show is the fifth iteration of the V&A’s decade-long Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures programme supported by designer and furniture maker John Makepeace OBE, which explores the use of natural, renewable materials and the future of sustainable forestry in relation to design and architecture. Through an annual display, symposium and programme of acquisitions, Make Good invites people from across different disciplines to share their knowledge.

Anna Bates, V&A curator of furniture and product design, said, “This display in the V&A’s furniture gallery is surrounded by historic furniture and woodwork by makers and designers who had an innate understanding of the timbers they were working with. dRMM’s research serves to remind us how divorced industry has become from this knowledge. It is a timely call to understand and revalue the properties of our underused local resources, and the systems in which they are grown, harvested and processed.” 

dRMM won the Stirling Prize in 2017 for Hastings Pier. Recently projects include WorkStack industrial studios in Charlton, Wick Lane housing and industrial workspace in Hackney, and Wintringham Primary, a new timber school in Cambridgeshire.

dRMM: Building from Forests is at the V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL (Room 133) until 30 October 2026. The free exhibition will be followed by a symposium in March 2026.