English Woodlands Timber (EWT) has supplied chestnut logs for an unusual exhibit at the Victoria & Albert museum in London – a charred timber teahouse designed by Japanese architect Teronobu Fujimori.
The teahouse forms part of the museum’s “Architects Build Small Spaces” exhibition.
Charring, particularly of cladding, is a traditional preservative method in Japanese timber construction.
According to EWT’s Sarah Farmer, the company became involved in the project thanks to a recommendation from the Greenoak Carpentry Company, which it had worked for previously.
“We were asked to supply the chestnut for the legs of the building, which, like the cedar cladding and roof, was also charred,” she said. “And we also supplied more timber for some of the internal elements.”
The teahouse was put together at the workshop of MDM Props by the architect himself, assisted by students from the Royal College of Art.
UPM has supplied whitewood and laminated panels for the 7.7m-high Ark Booktower by Norway-based architect Sami Rintala.
The V&A exhibition runs until August 30.
