Showroom and furniture in solid wood | Studio Ellisse architetti

SOLID WOOD: A RESOURCE FOR MAN
"Natural wood is a material of unsurpassed resources, put however seriously at risk by the industrial treatments that normally the material suffers.
This problem is the counterpart of a culture based on the aesthetic, that doesn’t recognize wood as natural material but transforming and transforming it in a hybrid synthetic element deprived of precious properties. The excessive concern to protect has this given rise to the use of laminating and varnishing to such an extent that the soul of the wood is irremediably compromised."
Serena Omodeo Salè, Verdeaureo dell'architettura, Maggioli Editore 2006
Nowadays we have many scientific researches about the carcinogenic effects of some chemicals utilized in the furniture industry. For example the formaldehyde, is indicated by the World Health Organization, in the IARC vol. 88 report (International Agency for Research on Cancer), as carcinogenic element. Its dangerousness is connected to its extreme volatility. Because of the hydrolysis effects, the formaldehyde is freed by the urea resin of which the panel is made and released in the environment.
In Europe, the regulation indicates the standard quantities of the formaldehyde in the industrial products determining emission classes. Class E1 is nowadays the most restrictive such as equal or minor than 0,1 ppm, conceived to respond to the WHO standards.
These classes are indicated in the European regulation UNI EN 13986:2015 “Wood-based panels for use in construction – Characteristics, evaluation of conformity and marking” specifically made for panels but then became a reference also for furniture and floors.

WHY DO WE USE SOLID WOOD?
Despite the undeniable aesthetic value, the use of solid wood it’s a conscious choice about sustainability and environmental well being in our homes. Sustainability because reducing the use of plywoods, gluelams, mdf and the use of glues and paints means do not contribute to the creation of waste that will be harmful for the environment and the humans when they’ll be disposed off in landfills.
Environmental well being because it’s nowadays scientifically proved that the urea glues and the synthetic paints used in the industry could be very dangerous for the air quality in our houses and offices.
On the contrary solid wood behaving like a sponge, whose innumerable pores and cavities inside it act as a tank and a filter, it’s able to perform very important tasks for the air quality. One cubic centimeter of cellulose has a stunning inner surface of about six millions square centimeters. A nut of cellulose big as the Game of the Goose one, is able to contain a surface that can accommodate a detached house with a garden.

WHY DO WE USE THE SHORT SUPPLY CHAIN?
We trust in the use of local wood because we think that our forests are rich enough of different wood species. The use of exotic woods is a dangerous activity for the environment and for our health. In fact, the logs loaded in big containers undergo fungicidal treatments that can pollute the air of our homes even after years.
Furthermore, forestry practices are regulated in Europe and North America while in Asia and Africa the certifications are still not very reliable.
The short chain allows a more accurate monitoring of the wood quality, the check of the relative humidity in the trunk at the time of picking in the sawmill and therefore a more stable material for the craftsman use in the workshop.