Students turn decades-old mahogany into modern chairs

Talk about a fascinating design assignment.

The Museum of Vancouver issued a challenge: transform decades-old marine-grade mahogany into chairs fit for a new era.

The material had a story: once used by Vancouver’s marine industry, it sat fallow for decades before it was donated to the Museum. The task was simple—turn forgotten material into something useful again.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Wilson School of Design (KPU) didn’t just accept the challenge. The school built an entire curriculum around it. (Above: close up of design drawings)

The KPU student design teams created 15 original chair prototypes using this vintage wood from Guatemala — wood that the museum notes “is rooted in a deeper and more difficult history: the extractive trade of tropical hardwoods that contributed to widespread deforestation across Central America.”

KPU students “were invited to engage with the wood’s colonial past and environmental cost.” Proceeds from any future chair sales will support Indigenous-led reforestation programs in Guatemala — a commitment to repair that was embedded in the project.

The students’ work is on exhibition at Museum of Vancouver’s Future Makers: Chairs by New Designers.

Museum of Vancouver Future Makers: Chairs by New Designers, here.

KPU’s Instagram, here.

Instagram of KPU Product Design chair Iryna Karaush , here.

An Instagram video, below

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A post shared by Wilson School of Design at KPU (@wilsondesignkpu)

NOTE: You’ll see in the comments that Iceland Penny from Vancouver has just pointed out there’s a predecessor to this project – Reclaim + Repair: The Mahogany Project, curated by Propellor Studio, in collaboration with Museum of Vancouver. Have a look, here.