British studio Mitre & Mondays collaborated with Benchmark and the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) on Wood for the Trees, an immersive installation presented during Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design festival as part of the Material Matters fair.
Designed to evoke the atmosphere of an American hardwood forest, the exhibition featured sculptural timber elements ranging from rotating trunk-like columns to furniture resembling felled logs. Consequently, the installation illustrated five stages involved in responsible timber production and forest management.
Rather than focusing solely on finished products, the project celebrated the broader lifecycle of wood. Therefore, the exhibition sought to demonstrate how carefully managed hardwood forests can sustain biodiversity while ensuring the long-term availability of timber resources.
“In a plantation, there are no seedlings on the floor; it’s a monoculture with very little biodiversity,” explained David Venables, European director for the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), during a tour of the show.
“But in a forest, you’ve got trees of all different ages and species living together. Some will be harvested, and some will be left to grow the next generation. That’s what will give us more trees in the future.”
Installation Translates Forestry Practices Into Material Experiences
The concept emerged after the founders of Mitre & Mondays, Josef Shanley-Jackson, Freya Bolton, and Finn Thomson, viewed Forested Future, a documentary directed by Petr Krejci that explores the restoration of hardwood forests across the United States.
Covering more than 40 million acres, these forests currently grow at twice the rate at which they are harvested, according to AHEC. As a result, the exhibition focused on processes including cultivation, ecosystem management, selective harvesting, regeneration, and timber utilization.
Working alongside British furniture maker Benchmark, the designers suspended sheets of veneer overhead to recreate a forest canopy. Meanwhile, cross-shaped timber columns, inspired by tree trunks, incorporated wooden spheres that enabled some structures to rotate.
These moving elements symbolized selective harvesting cycles and the extended growth periods characteristic of healthy forests. In addition, benches represented felled trees destined for milling, while stools referenced stumps capable of regeneration through existing root systems and surrounding saplings.
“We really wanted to bring the forest back to this timber, to spatially give people the understanding and some of the physical experience of navigating a forest as these foresters do,” said Thomson.
The exhibition featured four species of wood: American red oak, yellow birch, hard maple, and cherry. Furthermore, the materials came from family-owned sawmills and belonged to the “number one common” category, a grade often overlooked because of knots and variations in grain and color.
Designers Advocate for More Diverse Timber Selection
Through the project, AHEC encouraged architects and designers to adopt a broader approach to material specification. Consequently, the installation challenged assumptions surrounding lower-grade timber and highlighted its aesthetic potential.
“If we only use 10 per cent of the tree, which is what is happening at the moment, we’re not being responsible,” said Venables.
“Hopefully it starts a conversation about how this is such an interesting selection of wood, and why people aren’t specifying more of it,” added Martin Penrose, head of design at Benchmark.
The exhibition follows AHEC’s 2025 presentation No. 1 Common, which invited designers to create furniture using timber traditionally considered unsuitable for premium applications.
Accordingly, Wood for the Trees expanded the conversation around sustainable forestry and responsible material use. Moreover, the installation demonstrated how exhibition design can communicate ecological processes through architecture, craftsmanship, and storytelling.
Wood for the Trees was presented from June 10 to 12, 2026, at Ukraine House in Copenhagen as part of Material Matters and 3 Days of Design.