Paul Cocksedge: materials of the future – wood and light

Paul Cocksedge (b. 1978), the most technologically advanced and poetic designer of his generation, has several educations, one of them in the field of physics. Cocksedge specializes in connecting the unconnected. Metaphorical thinking is close to him, he has been looking for years for a way to convey a poetic metaphor with the help of complex chemical or physical processes translated into the language of design. Cocksedge founded his own studio in London with Joanna Pinhoe in 2004. Since then, he has designed numerous installations and furniture collections, including a series made from the concrete floor of his own studio.

Design thinking

I recently learned that the new iPhones have chips the size of an atom – which means you can’t see them. For any person, this fact is exciting. But it can also be a frightening reminder of how far we all (including myself) are from cutting-edge technology. On the one hand, humanity is very slow in solving the environmental problems it faces. On the other hand, scientists create tiny chips capable of the impossible. And design must be what brings innovation together with solutions to the really big problems that need to be addressed urgently. The very concept of progress is changing: it now has a lot of interpretations.

I started shopping more locally, including bread from nearby bakeries and buying craft items made by friends in my area. There is a feeling that everything is returning to the local – and it did not come from the future, but simply returned from the practice of bygone days. However, we can talk about it as progress. After all, local shopping and consumption certainly has a positive impact on the environment. I believe that sometimes learning from the past can be a great way to move forward.

Now of all the concepts that really matter and solve the immediate problem – how to create a global vaccine against Covid-19. Obviously, the biggest challenge is producing the vaccine itself, but there are many logistical challenges to get it to different locations around the world. It is design thinking that can help with this problem. Designers are constantly tackling these challenges and looking at society as a whole. Everything in the world can be a subject of design or intersect with it: whether it be medicine, agriculture or a way to get around cities, now and in the future. Design thinking plays an important role in many areas of our lives. In solving big problems, designers can really help.

Now of all the concepts that really matter and solve the immediate problem – how to create a global vaccine against Covid-19. Obviously, the biggest challenge is producing the vaccine itself, but there are many logistical challenges to get it to different locations around the world. It is design thinking that can help with this problem. Designers are constantly tackling these challenges and looking at society as a whole. Everything in the world can be a subject of design or intersect with it: whether it be medicine, agriculture or a way to get around cities, now and in the future. Design thinking plays an important role in many areas of our lives. In solving big problems, designers can really help.

About the future and ecology

The most impressive technology for me continues to be the Internet and its ability to spread knowledge and serve development. However, it is also important to look at its dark side – how it can be used to manipulate and profit from vulnerable people. During this year, which has passed under the sign of the pandemic, I cannot say that I was interested in industrial design and its new products. Rather, I paid more attention to science and politics, since they seem much more relevant now.

The intensity of this year’s events will certainly impact product design, and I’m curious to see what the impact will be. The design industry now offers a great range of knowledge and skills that can really help solve problems. There are new technologies, materials, ways of working. But it is important that any design, along with technology, takes into account the human, personal side of things. We have so many inventions that will save the planet, and design is one way to use and communicate them. But we, as humans, have a responsibility to improve the situation on our planet without design. In everyday life, there is a very simple way to influence its course – to be kinder and more patient with others.

About the process

For me, the reason to start a new project is an idea that I like. It’s like searching for uncharted territory. The originality of the idea is the most important part of the process; there must be something that initially seems to me authentic and worthy of attention. We are talking about those ideas that can be analyzed in advance and understand whether they even deserve the time and investment required to implement them. It is important to ask yourself if society needs this invention at all. However, the very process of the emergence of projects is a mystery. I don’t have a specific recipe for what needs to be done or learned in order for ideas to emerge.

About wood as the material of the future

Lately we have been working a lot with wood. For example, we use it as the main and only material for a bridge we are designing in Cape Town, as well as for some furniture and our wave-shaped installation Please be Seated, which is currently touring China after , as presented during the London Design Festival 2019. I was initially drawn to the wood’s warmth, but I soon discovered its other great properties. We began to use recycled wood and also reused wood in some projects: for the London edition of Please Be Seated, boards were used from scaffolding. We are also exploring ways to use cross-laminated timber in the Cape Town Bridge project.

In many ways, wood is the ideal material. If you use it correctly, it has an extremely positive impact on the environment. It looks great and has wonderful tactile properties. We return to traditional materials and find new ways to work with them – this is the future for us. Can we call the “material” of the future light? Maybe. I work with it all the time and am still fascinated by its properties.