1. Tools of daily life and wood

No other tool in the house uses as much wood as furniture. Also, there is no other tool as large or larger than the human body that uses wood as much as furniture.  Looking at the materials used for non-furniture household tools, plastic and metal are used for home appliances, and most household goods are also made of plastic.

In this context, furniture seems to play a major role in making use of the characteristics of wood in our daily lives. However, some furniture is also made of plastic and metal. 

In this case, it seems that furniture does not have to be made of wood. "There are many different types of furniture that can be coordinated to suit a user's tastes and preferences. One of them is wooden furniture."  If you put it that way, it seems to me that there is no other way to see it.

And from the perspective of furniture being easily made of wood, "Wooden furniture is easy to produce because it has been made from wood for a long time and the infrastructure for production facilities and material procurement has been established. That may be true.

If we talk about it from the viewpoint of taste, coordination, infrastructure, and so on, it ends there. However, if there are not many tools for daily life that use wood as the main material other than furniture, there is a possibility to discover something new by exploring the reasons for using wood in furniture from the perspective of function and expression.

2. Exploration with Maruni 

Maruni began industrializing wooden furniture under the motto "Industrialization of Craft. In 2004, the company added the word "woodworking" to its name, which strongly suggests the company's commitment to work with wood. In the 95 years since its founding, the company has continued to manufacture products while responding to diverse lifestyles.

When I visited their factory and talked about their manufacturing process, I was impressed by their high awareness of the importance of making furniture from wood, their attention to detail in the manufacturing process, and their ingenuity in creating beautiful and strong products.

What I would like to consider with Maruni is the reason for making furniture out of wood. I would like to explore the reasons why wooden furniture is necessary in today's diverse lifestyles, and to realize the role of wooden furniture with functionality and expression.

１、暮らしの道具 と 木

家の中で使う道具の中で、家具ほど 材料として木を沢山使用する道具はない。

また人体と同等の大きさ、もしくは より大きなスケールで、木材を使用する道具も他に無い。

家具以外の生活道具の素材を見ると、家電ではプラスチックと金属、生活雑貨でもプラスチックが多い。

そう考えると、家具こそが木の特性を暮らしに活かす、大きな役割を持つ道具のように見える。

しかし、家具の中にもプラスチック製や金属製の物がある。

そうなると、今度は 家具は木でなくても良いように思う。

「コーディネート や ユーザーの好みに合わせて、多様な種類の家具ある。その内の一つが、木製の家具なのである。」

そう言われてしまうと、それまでのような気がする。

また、家具が木で作り易い視点として、

「昔から木で作られていて、生産設備や材料調達のインフラが出来上がっているから、木製が作り易いのである。」

と言われると、それも確かにそうかもしれない。

好み、コーディネート、インフラ、それらの視点で言えばそれまでだが、家具以外では木が主材となる生活道具が多くはないなら、

家具でこそ木を使う理由を 機能と表現の視点から探究してみることで、新しい何かを発見できる可能性がある。

２．マルニ木工 と共に行う探究

工芸の工業化” をモットーに木製家具の工業化を始めたマルニ木工。

2004年、社名に改めて 木工 を付けたことからも、木材と共に在ることへの意志を強く感じる。

創業から９５年間、ライフスタイルの多様化に応えながらモノづくりを続けている。

実際に工場で製造現場を見ながらものづくりのお話を伺うと、木材で家具を作る事への

高い意識、製造過程での細かい配慮、美しく強く作るための創意工夫を驚くほど確かめることが出来た。

マルニ木工と共に考えたいのは、やはり 木で家具を作る理由。

様々な暮らしがある中で、現代に木製家具が必要な理由を探究し、木製家具の果たす役割を機能と表現で形にすること。