Tokyo, Japan

Japanese designer Yuma Kano has invented a new material created from forest small trees, foliage, bark, seeds, soil, and other items that until today are considered worthless for construction or furniture making by mixing them only with a reactive mineral base and water-based acrylic resin that uses no organic solvents or volatile organic compounds.

Named Forestbank, this material “isn’t simply lumber, but a material design that looks to find the variety of value in entire forests,” says Yuma Kano.

These materials have patterns that vary depending on the angle and depth of the cut, creating a variety as fascinating as wood grain, and this is multiplied by differences in season, land, and other conditions of the forest at the time of harvest.

The characteristic yellows and greens are the actual coloring of the trees, which are dyed by bacteria found in nature.

The green leaves mixed in change to orange and brown as the seasons change. In addition, earth from the forest floor can be mixed in, adding browns and blacks, you can see the complex patterns of the cross sections of roots and seeds ordinarily hidden in the earth, and take notice of the different coloring that different species of trees have.

By looking at the ubiquitous nature of wood from a different angle and finding new value, a new material that condenses the whole forest has been found.

This material can be shaped with ordinary woodworking methods, and applied in various fields like furniture and interiors.

Plus, forests don’t have to be its sole source.

It can be made from waste pruned from trees lining streets, in parks, and gardens, and from scrap wood from woodworking studios to create original patterns that tell a unique story.

Project: Forestbank
Designer: Yuma Kano
Manufacturer : STUDIO YUMAKANO, Hidakuma inc.
Photographers: Shot by Kusk