Bernese wood technicians want to increase demand for beech wood
The newly founded start-up Fagusnoir from the Bern University of Applied Sciences wants more domestic beech wood to be used for furniture production and interior design. By changing its inherent colour, it aims to make it more attractive for the construction industry. It presented the new process at the Berlin Design Week.
The start-up Fagusnoir has been founded at the Department of Architecture, Wood and Construction(BFH-AHB) at the Bern University of Applied Sciences. The Biel-based wood engineers are striving for “new perspectives and a significantly higher status in the value-added process” for the native beech, according to a statement. At the Berlin Design Week, which runs until 17 May, they presented a process developed at the BFH’s wood technology laboratory that can be used to change the colour of beech wood. A new look could make beech, which is hardly used, more attractive for the construction industry. The aim is to colour solid beech wood over its entire cross-section. The basis is the substances tannin and iron contained in the wood. They set in motion a chemical reaction that produces a dark, greyish colour in the wood.
In Switzerland, every fifth tree is a beech. For aesthetic reasons, darker and “expressive wood species such as oak, walnut and cherry” are in demand. The wood-processing industry prefers rare or non-native tree species for interior finishing and furniture production. They have to be bought in large quantities abroad.
According to Fagusnoir, due to low demand, many beech trees are not felled, are sold abroad at cheap prices or end up as firewood on the domestic market. The increasing spread of beech trees has a negative impact on the ecosystem.