Words on Wood Podcast Returns for Fourth Season

The American Hardwood Export Council and design journal Disegno series is back for another year.

Lots of people in the wood industry talk about wood. But these people really talk about wood.

Words on Wood, the podcast hosted by the American Hardwood Export Council and Disegno, the design journal, is set to return for its fourth season this year focusing on “unexpected and timely” subjects about the relationship between wood and the design industry, according to the architecture and design website Dezeen.

Each of this year’s episodes, available on podcast services like Apple and Spotify, will have a theme, starting with the first one, which looked at veneers—something the AHEC calls an “overlooked timber product.” Participants included designers Jorge Penadés and Rio Kobayashi and Cathy Lynn Danzer, sustainability and compliance counsel at timber manufacturer Danzer.

“The episode explores the design potential of this thinly sliced material and how a new generation of practitioners are pushing it in experimental and playful directions,” said AHEC.

The second episode is on what architectural education lacks when it comes to curriculum on wood and timber. AHEC says that different wood species have varying properties and that architects must be provided with this information during their training. Speakers include educators Kenn Busch, Hanif Kara and Izaskun Chinchilla Moreno.

The new season also includes “Making Shorts”, a series of shorter podcasts looking at various production techniques for designing and building with timber. “These bite-sized episodes zoom into production techniques for timber, providing concise case studies through interviews with designers on the making processes behind specific projects,” said AHEC.

Words on Wood was launched in 2021 to create an upfront dialogue between industries exploring all things wood-related, the organizers said. In 2022, the podcast won the Best Podcast award from Archiboo Awards.

“Venturing into the world’s forests, sites of timber production and design and architecture studios, the podcast examines how these industries intersect through material,” said AHEC.

Image: Benjamin Lund via Dezeen

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