Archidex 2016
To be honest, at the beginning I was quite against using hardwood as I thought it would take hundreds of years to grow back and replenish but upon conducting a little research turns out that there are many types of hardwood for different purposes. I think its alright to use hardwood if only they have been harvested in a sustainable way and not clearing a whole forest and replanting with a certain species of tree. Governments and NGO all around the world which are related to protecting the environment should work harder and be more responsible in supporting sustainable forestry. I believe that everything is good when in MODERATION. There has to be a balance in the system if we want to do something. With sustainable wood, one thing is clear- Everyone, including the environment, wins.
20th July 2016, my first time attending Archidex at the Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival. I honestly had high expectations going there but was quite disappointed when most of the booths there turns out to be for business purposes. But that should be expected xD Either way, with that aside there were somethings that caught my attention. This was in hall 6 and it was right in the end of the hall. There was a booth exhibiting hardwood and it looked amazing! There were different species of trees such as Monkey Wood, Zebrano, Chengal, Mahogany, Merbau, Tamarind and Teak.
We had a short chat with the sales person over there. The second picture from the left is a Tamarind hardwood table which cost around RM19,000. Mr Shukri explained to us that hardwood can be a future investment for our kids as it is something that does not lose so much value as compared to cars. This piece of furniture could be passed down through
the family time to time. I have to agree that a car would start depreciating the moment we buy it but first let me get my house :p If I do not have a place to put this expensive piece of furniture, what's the point of getting it?
In search of a way to replace hardwood, we came across a booth which were exhibiting composite wood. We also had a short informative chat with the boss and he took his time to explain to us in detail about the benefits of composite wood. I'm sure we all know the pros and cons such as being way way cheaper than hardwood, can be shaped into various forms and designs, and has a steady supply. The looks may not be as impressive as the mighty hardwood but for the price you're paying, it certainly would satisfy the needs. Turns out that this company uses 70% of pine wood, 20% UPVC, and 10% glass colouring.
Hardwood or softwood? They both serve a different purpose as well as being in completely different price range. I think that as nice as hardwood may look in the living room as a furniture piece, it comes down to preferences. Hardwoods are 100% organic and can be refinished several time over a lifetime but laminated or composite woods can't as they may have layers. Besides that they have an average lifespan of 20 years as compared to 50-80 years for
hardwood. Furthermore hardwood is more eco-friendly than composite or laminated wood as these may contain chemicals such as resin and cheaper toxic glues that contain formaldehyde and other harmful materials to be used.