Tasmanian Blackwood makes a statement at Milan Design Week 2017

The recent IPCC report highlighted that we must urgently transition to a low carbon future. If Australia wants to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as per the Paris Agreement, it must reach net-zero emissions by 2035. With buildings accounting for around one fifth of Australia’s emissions when electricity use is taken into account, improving the sustainability of new and existing housing is low hanging fruit.

Fourth generation Australian furniture designer-maker and Tasmanian Timber ambassador Jon Goulder, is celebrated for his fine craftsmanship, attention to detail and award-winning designs. His works have made their way around the world, having made custom pieces for private clients, one-off installation designs with some pieces becoming permanent fixtures in State and National museums across Australia. Commissioned by design trailblazers Broached Commissions, Goulder has just completed Broached Goulder, a collection of pieces that meld the complex intricacies of generations of furniture making- all made with Tasmanian timber species.

Working as an architect for 15 years, and in the profession for 18, Kate Symons’ focus has always been on one thing: the client. Customising and creating bespoke residential homes has been her specialty. After 5 years of co-directing architectural practice MGA.I, in the midst of 2020, Symons established her very own Hobart based practice, Studio ilk.

Furniture and lighting designer Duncan Meerding is passionate about sustainable design. Favouring the use of timber in his designs, Meerding follows the design ethos that ‘a product should last as long as it took for the tree to grow.’ With his popular designs receiving international recognition and awards, his lighting masterpieces are set to do just that – and beyond.

The annual architecture commission at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is unique in Australia and highly prestigious. It is a blind competition with an open brief, providing freedom to architects and architecture students from across Australia to test their submissions on merit alone – letting their ideas and creativity with materials and design compete on a level playing field. The resulting structure is on exhibit for six months. In Absence, the 2019 installation, supported by Tasmanian Timber, officially launches tonight.