Savoir & Faire — Le Bois
Les Ateliers Vau Fontaine warmly recommend the book “Savoir & Faire: Le Bois” (Knowledge & Craft: Wood, in French), edited by Hugues Jacquet.
From the history and geography of forests to the use of wood nanoparticles, this encyclopaedia covers the scientific, symbolic, historical, aesthetic and socio-economic dimensions of one of the very first materials used by humankind. It is written as much for the enthusiast wishing to discover the material in greater depth as for the specialist, who will find other perspectives and knowledge to complement their own field of expertise.
Five main chapters shed light on the context and current state of wood: the fundamentals (the physics, chemistry and mechanics of wood, its history and symbolism…), the sustainable use of the resource (the geography of forests, logging and the timber trade, global warming, eco-design and sustainable construction…), tools and gestures, material and techniques (how the use of wood has evolved through history and its contemporary applications in industry, design, craft and construction), before concluding with an approach based on the senses: wood in instrument making, in perfumery, wood that we taste (spices and wine), not forgetting the view of contemporary artists on the material.
Academics, researchers, craftspeople, foresters, designers, historians, geographers, artists, engineers, architects, a perfumer… more than thirty contributors (Michel Pastoureau, Giuseppe Penone, Raymond Guidot, the Bouroullec brothers, Olivier Roellinger, Patrick Jouin, Yves Weinand, Françoise-Hélène Jourda…) have each approached the material through their own expertise, producing a body of knowledge unique in its complementarity, linked to the major issues that are placing wood and forests at the heart of today's challenges, both to preserve the resource and to show the renewed diversity of its applications.