ASSOCIATIONS
Design that understands
eco life cycles
An environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) is a means of
measuring all impacts of production and use of materials
from growth, treatment, transport, manufacturing, treatment,
use and ultimately disposal.
By Seed to Seat
Laurie Wiid sits on his Meraki Daybed.
A
n LCA considers a number of impacts on the
environment including carbon footprint, acidification
and eutrophication potential, photochemical ozone
creation and energy demand.
Seed to Seat recently provided an LCA on the Meraki
Daybed which was designed by Laurie Wiid. The more
elaborate nature of the Meraki Daybed has led to a slightly
larger environmental impact than for some of the other
Seed to Seat designs. However, the combination of natural
materials and skilful craftsmanship contributes to a very
strong environmental profile for a high-end bespoke piece
likely to remain in use for many years and to rarely, if ever,
need replacement.
SOFT MAPLE: AN ABUNDANT HARDWOOD
Over 97% of the mass of the daybed comprises soft maple,
among the most abundant of American hardwoods with
forest volume of around 1 500 million m 3 , 11% of the total
US hardwood resource. Each year, the volume of soft maple
in US forests grows by 36 million m 3 , of which only
12 JUNE / JULY 2019 //
15 million m 3 is harvested. This means the volume
standing in US hardwood forests increases by
21 million m 3 a year. It takes less than one quarter of
a second for forest growth to replace the soft maple
used to manufacture the daybed.
The bed’s soft, maple frame is complemented by
the cork padding, another natural sustainable
material with a low carbon footprint. At 173kg CO 2 eq.
(equivalent carbon dioxide), the carbon footprint of
the daybed is the same as driving 1 116km in a typical
South African car and equal to the carbon emissions
of the average South African over a seven-day period.
Emissions of 302kg CO 2 eq. during all processes to
produce and transport the soft maple from the US to
supply the cork and other materials and to
manufacture in South Africa, are offset by 111kg CO 2
eq. stored in the finished daybed and an additional
18kg CO 2 eq. due to burning of wood and cork offcuts
at the factory in South Africa.
MATERIAL EFFICIENCY
Material efficiency is quite high for a high-end bespoke
furniture product, with almost half of the wood supplied
ending up in the finished piece, a benefit of incorporating
flat boards into the design which are close to the standard
dimensions available. Efficient use of material reduces
environmental impacts associated with bulk transport of
lumber to the factory and with waste disposal. It also
maximises the carbon storage potential of the
furniture item.
IMPACT OF ELECTRICITY USAGE IN SA
With low impacts at other life cycle stages, manufacturing
in South Africa accounts for a large share of the overall
environmental impact. Impacts at this stage are mainly due
to use of a CNC machine and extractor fan both powered by
electricity from the South African national grid which has
95% dependency on heavy coal. Strategies to increase the
share of renewables (such as solar energy) in the supply of
electricity during manufacturing would significantly
mitigate environmental impact.
www.timberiq.co.za