We spoke with Simon Burvill, founder of Gaze Burvill, to find out more about the Woodland Seat, a Design Guild Mark award winner from 2024.
What initially inspired you to make the Woodland Seat?
Chestnut is a beautiful wood, and these trees are well adapted to changing climate conditions for the UK, so we should be using it more. It is durable, so well-adapted to outdoor furniture.
Can you explain the concept for the Woodland Seat?
The Chestnut tree trunk often has a spectacular natural twist – it is part of its structural strength, but we wanted to reflect this characteristic into the design concept.
How have you struck the balance between function and design with this product?
No component appears twice in the Woodland Seat – just as just as no two branches of a tree match each other! We had great fun with component parts – each unique, with an individual twist, size and form – but brought together, they create a comfortable, strong bench for the terrace or landscape.
Who does this appeal to?
Seats in the landscape serve two purposes at least – one is for a comfortable resting place, and also as a sculptural element in the garden design composition. The Woodland Seat will draw the eye, create interest and a focal point in the garden – and it’s comfortable too
How long did the design process take, from initial sketches to roll out?
From the initial commission, the whole process took about 18 months.
What modifications did you make along the way?
This started as an aesthetic adventure – creating something organic in concept, a woodland spirit. The practicalities were tackled later – modifying the placement and shape of some elements to ensure a comfortable form. We also wanted to make sure a child could not get their head stuck in any of the spaces between components, so we ended up with a good, practical seat, but which still had the spirit of adventure and character of the organic woodland.
In what way do you think this design is different from anything else available on the market?
Normally design for manufacture seeks simplicity and consistency of components – this is the logical and common sense approach. The Woodland Seat seeks out complexity, and the result is a celebration of the material – spiralling chestnut – and individual, organic form – a rarity today.
What was the most challenging aspect of the design?
Designing the twists for CNC manufacture, and the jointing on the angled planes was quite a tricky business indeed – but we’re good at it now.
For more information, go to https://www.gazeburvill.com/
