Nordic Cool
The plywood exhibit – large-scale plywood sculptures in the Kennedy Center's Hall of Nations, created by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta – celebrates "one of the most used products in Scandinavian design, from moulded to tensioned, from furniture to houses."
Around 3600 BC, Mesopotamian woodworkers faced a quality wood shortage. To compensate, they invented veneers: high quality wood on the exposed surfaces glued to lower quality wood at the core.
About 2000 years later, the Egyptians developed the two-man lathe to carve thin, vertical, continuous sheets of veneer from lengths of wood. Gluing these pieces of sheets together with their grains crossed was the precursor to modern plywood.
Fast forward a few thousand years and Swedish engineer, architect, inventor and industrialist Immanuel Nobel re-invented the Egyptian lathe using industrial age tools and techniques, creating the modern version of plywood and plywood production. Immanuel was the patriarch of the Nobel family described as 'the Russian Rockefellers' who moved to St. Petersburg for two decades. His son Alfred held 350 patents in his lifetime, including the very lucrative patent for his invention of dynamite. Alfred, of course, posthumously created the Nobel Peace Institute in his name.
Plywood – the ubiquitous manufactured wood product is one of the most common uses of wood on the planet today. Because of the Nobel Connection, it has a particularly firm place in Scandinavian design, including the iconic furniture that burst on the world scene in the middle-to-late 1900s as well as more current Nordic uses of the flexible material.
THE PLYWOOD BABY IS BORN
When the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., agreed to play host earlier this year to a Nordic cultural festival called 'Nordic Cool', two of the exhibits converged around the tale told above: a retrospective of the life and work of Alfred Nobel and a mesmerizing exhibit of the wonders of plywood writ large.
The plywood exhibit – large-scale plywood sculptures in the Center's Hall of Nations created by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta – was in the words of the Kennedy Center intended to celebrate "one of the most used products in Scandinavian design, from moulded to tensioned, from furniture to houses. Plywood experimentation from the 1920s and onwards, built a base for further development of low cost plywood products intended for a broader public. It is a material most representative for the development of social democracy in the Nordic region."
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the modern version of plywood?+
Swedish engineer, architect, inventor and industrialist Immanuel Nobel re-invented the Egyptian lathe using industrial age tools and techniques, creating the modern version of plywood and plywood production.
Who created veneers and why?+
Around 3600 BC, Mesopotamian woodworkers invented veneers to compensate for a quality wood shortage. They glued high quality wood on exposed surfaces to lower quality wood at the core.
How did the Egyptians contribute to the development of plywood?+
About 2000 years after the Mesopotamians invented veneers, the Egyptians developed the two-man lathe to carve thin, vertical, continuous sheets of veneer from lengths of wood. Gluing these sheets together with their grains crossed was the precursor to modern plywood.
What is the connection between the Nobel family and plywood?+
Immanuel Nobel, who re-invented plywood production, was the patriarch of the Nobel family, described as 'the Russian Rockefellers.' His son Alfred held 350 patents, including the patent for dynamite, and posthumously created the Nobel Peace Institute.
What was the Nordic Cool plywood exhibit at the Kennedy Center?+
The plywood exhibit featured large-scale plywood sculptures in the Kennedy Center's Hall of Nations, created by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta. It was part of a Nordic cultural festival called 'Nordic Cool' held earlier in the year.
Why is plywood considered significant to Scandinavian design?+
Plywood experimentation from the 1920s onwards built a base for further development of low cost plywood products intended for a broader public. According to the Kennedy Center, it is a material most representative of the development of social democracy in the Nordic region.