Weeping Seat

Furniture/ installation
2020

Species:
White willow, weeping willow

Project:
Academic project
MA GEO Design
Design Academy Eindhoven

Photography:
Felix Bell

Acknowledgments:
Lenneke Langenhuijsen, tutor
Mieke Langenhuizen, basketry maker

Willows (Salix) are a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on wetlands in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. A theory is that the word “salix” is ultimately derived from Celtic language, “sal” meaning near and “lis” meaning water, alluding to the habitat.

Salix alba, the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia. The name derives from the white tone on the undersides of the leaves. In Europe, the weeping willows have been introduced from Asia for centuries due to its beauty. Through the years, growers developed a hybrid, the Salix alba tristis.

As branches come down from the canopy to the floor, they tend to create walls and hideaways under their canopy.

Taking cues from living willow architecture, traditional basketry and understanding the people's relationship with the tree, a living seat that mixes harvested twigs with the hanging living branches from the willow tree creates new spaces to connect and blend with it.

This project seeks to discover new ways of design with a responsible manner for the earth and its nature.