A material investigation into non-destructive sourcing and regenerative making with birch bark.
Birkenwerk is a design research project exploring the possibilities of regenerative material culture rooted in forest ecosystems. Taking birch bark as a case study, the project investigates alternative methods of sourcing, treating, and crafting bio-based materials without harming the environment, guided by indigenous knowledge and future-facing values.
Modern material culture often treats “natural” materials in ways that make them unsustainable, through industrial additives like paint, varnish, or glue, not to forget abiut mechanical fasteners like nails and bolts, which can make materials unrecyclable or even toxic at end-of-life.
This is driven by human consumption behaviors that prioritise convenience, speed, and excessive durability, even for objects intended to be used only for a short period.
Take the example of wood, though considered a regenerative material, wood is often processed in ways that make it lose its ecological potential and at the end of life, many of them ended up at landfill.
What would it mean to truly design with nature, not just take from it? To also consider its end — and how we might redefine our material culture.
Birch bark became the focus, a material that can be harvested without cutting down trees, allowing forests to remain intact while offering unique natural properties: water resistance, buoyancy, and flexibility.
Pictures of me going to the forest, sourcing the material, videos, etc
As part of my MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering studies at RCA and Imperial College, I developed a working prototype: a birch bark bodyboard. This allowed me to test the material’s limits in a real application that depends on strength, flotation, and exposure to water. But before inclining to one material exploration, my research started from mapping the stakeholders from end to end to understand the current efforts that have been made in terms of building for regenerative culture for the future.
Key steps included:
- Engaging with stakeholders across forestry, material science, design and design communities in regenerative and sustainable ventures, practices and initiatives, from small to larger scale.
- Understanding the current common process of working with the material sourced from the forest.
- Experimenting with birch bark sheets as primary materials and finding a way to form them
- Developing a natural sealant blend of beeswax and pine resin to waterproof the joints
- Working with the bark’s natural curvature and flex
While the bodyboard itself is an experimental form, it successfully demonstrated:
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The natural buoyancy and water resistance of birch bark
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The potential of non-destructive sourcing in forest-based materials
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A small-scale but meaningful alternative to petrochemical-based board materials
More than the object, Birkenwerk offered insight into how we might rethink extraction, treatment, and material care in product design.
The project raised as many questions as it answered.
Is it scalable?
Can this knowledge be translated to other products or systems?
Is this kind of “low-tech” material thinking viable in a high-performance world?
Birkenwerk doesn’t claim to solve — it proposes, demonstrates, and invites.