In March 2017 Swedish Wood participated in the CIFM fair in Guangzhou, China, together with 10 member companies representing the Swedish sawmill industry. The fair visitors confirmed the increasing interest for Swedish wood in China.
Wood products in Swedish pine were exhibited in the China Design Trends Gallery at Asia’s leading international design event, Design Shanghai, on 8-11 March 2017. The pine was used to illustrate the trend “Playful Craftsmanship”, which reflects the demand from the Chinese middle class for unique design that tells a story.
At the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair on 7-11 February, third-year students on the Furniture Design programme at Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies (Malmstens) will be presenting the results of the unique collaborative project #DesigninPine. There are nine items of furniture, each representing a successful meeting of Swedish design, Swedish pine and modern Chinese furniture manufacturing. Welcome to the launch and VIP gathering.
#DesigninPine is a unique collaborative project between the industry body Swedish Wood, Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies (Malmstens), Linköping University and two Chinese furniture manufacturers. At the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair on 7-11 February, the students involved will be presenting their examples of innovative Swedish design in pine for young Chinese people, in the form of nine prototypes manufactured in China.
Having been active for many years in China’s east coast cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, the industry organisation Swedish Wood has now taken part in a furniture fair in the inland city of Chengdu, in Western China. Chengdu is a potentially important growth area for Swedish sawmill exports and the aim of Swedish Wood’s stand at the fair was to inspire and inform the Chinese furniture industry about Swedish wood and to create new contacts between them and representatives from Swedish sawmill companies.
This June, Swedish Wood hosted a three-day study trip for 15 top UK interior designers and architects to inspire them to use more Swedish pine in their projects.
In 2015 China decided to promote timber as a viable alternative to conventional steel and concrete construction of high-rise buildings. This decision will not only have a positive impact on the climate, with timber being the only renewable building material, but also on European exports of timber products. Since the 1st of June a Chinese delegation has been visiting Europe in order to learn from European modern timber construction experts. By the end of the year China will have established norms and standards enabling the construction of high-rise timber buildings of up to 18 stories.
27 May saw the announcement of the winners in the “Swedish Wood Student Design Challenge 2016”, which was initiated by the industry body Swedish Wood in partnership with the American University in Dubai (AUD). The challenge was to create an innovative and functional item of furniture for a hotel lobby using Swedish pine and spruce.
The Dubai Wood Show was held on 4-6 April this year. The event is the biggest trade fair for timber products in the Middle East and North Africa region, although it also attracts visitors from India, Pakistan and East Africa. The MENA region is a key market for Swedish sawmill exports and Swedish Wood attended the trade fair for the third time, together with representatives from Swedish sawmills.
On 9 March Råå Preschool in Helsingborg was declared the winner of the Swedish Timber Prize 2016, one of Sweden’s best known architectural prizes, which is awarded to a building that represents good Swedish architecture in wood and that reflects and improves the times we live in. On Wednesday the prizewinner was presented with the Golden Horse trophy and prize money of SEK 100,000.
