By Katie Dominy / 30-09-2009

On the fourth floor of the Aram Store, a light and airy converted Victorian fruit and vegetable warehouse in Covent Garden, is the Aram Gallery, currently hosting the Grassworks project of Amsterdam-based Jair Straschnow. Straschnow’s production-ready prototypes are designed from bamboo sheet laminate as flat-pack delivery, self-assembly items.

Israeli-born Straschnow’s designs are known for a simplicity that belies the work involved to reach such a level of edited consideration. True to his beliefs, the pieces work together both in their structure and aesthetics. All the prototype pieces, tables, chairs and even a seesaw, were self-produced by Straschnow in his studio in Amsterdam, where he settled after his post-graduate studies at the Applied Arts Department of the Sandberg Institute.

Bamboo was chosen for its obvious sustainable qualities. "It’s mainly because it is a truly green material", Straschnow says. "Sustainability is a massive issue, but it also has become an empty marketing title pasted onto every other thing. Working with bamboo and making sure that the plywood I used was made using a water-based EU approved glue, was a safe starting point." Bamboo is the fastest growing plant (grass) on earth and can be repeatedly harvested from the same stalk. The bamboo came from Dutch-based Bambusa.

The self-assembly pieces rely on traditional interlocking woodworking techniques and in particular on this occasion, a reworking of the dovetail joint. Dovetailing entails the slotting together of pieces of wood with opposed sloped angles, creating stability by being wedged together. Here the dovetail is used as a key structural principle. "Because I wanted to stick to one material and avoid as much as possible additional gluing and the use of screws or fittings, this led to traditional joinery and dry (no glue) connections - mainly different variations of the dovetail joint," Straschnow explains.

The exhibition comes complete with large-scale versions of Straschnow’s technical drawings that show how the pieces fit together and also how they can be stored. For the designer, minimizing the space needed for storing the pieces is key. "Considering 'space' as a resource, the intention behind this collection is to try and use it wisely - multi purpose objects that fold, collapse and flat pack." And the reason for showing the technical drawings? "I don't like to be misunderstood, and because a lot of the pieces looks simple - it doesn't mean they are obvious. Sometimes you have to over-explain yourself in order for others to get the point."

The next step is for Straschnow is to get Grassworks into production. With sustainability high on manufacturers’ and retailers’ agendas, this project is a natural winner.

Grassworks is showing at the Aram Gallery, 110 Drury Lane, Covent Garden London from 23 September to 31 October 2009.

Photography by Shira Klasmer

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