9 designers, 3 hardwoods, 1 workshop

The onset of Covid-19 has significantly changed the way people live, interact and work. In the design world, creatives and makers have had to adapt their processes using new technologies to work together at a distance and often operating from new, improvised home offices.

Connected was an experiment which set out to explore how designers and craftsmen adapt their working practices during lockdown. For this project the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Benchmark Furniture and the Design Museum challenged nine international designers to create a table and seating, which suited their new ways of working from and living at home. They also recorded their creative journeys, allowing us to witness how they approached the brief and developed their thoughts, sketches and ideas. 

The designers involved in Connected were: Ini Archibong (Switzerland), Maria Bruun (Denmark), Jaime Hayon (Spain), Heatherwick Studio (UK), Sebastian Herkner (Germany), Maria Jeglinska-Adamczewska (Poland), Sabine Marcelis (Netherlands), Studiopepe (Italy) and Studio Swine (UK / Japan).

These nine exciting solutions were all displayed together virtually here, and then exhibited at the Design Museum for a month, celebrating the act of coming back together – reconnecting – after lockdown.

Created by the American Hardwood Export Council, the Design Museum and Benchmark Furniture.