Bioregional Design at the V&A: From Orkney Chairs to Maderón

The V&A's Make Good programme, now approaching its sixth iteration, has been exploring bioregional design through displays, symposia, and acquisitions. Key contributors include Material Cultures, Atelier Luma, and Cooking Sections, who advocate for sustainable, circular design anchored in local environments. A survey of the Furniture and Woodwork Collection reveals that bioregional principles have long been present, with objects acquired for ecological significance for at least 30 years. Notable examples include Orkney chairs made by David Kirkness (1890-1900), which used local straw and driftwood, and the Brodgar chair by contemporary makers Kevin Gauld and Gareth Neal. Another case is Maderón, a 'plastic wood' developed by Spanish chemical engineer Silio Cardona in 1980 from almond shells, used by designer Alberto Lievore for the Rothko chair (1996), which was exhibited in the V&A's 1996 display 'Green Furniture: Ecological Design'. The material's potential ended with Cardona's death, as he never shared its recipe. David Colwell's C3 chair (1982) also exemplifies bioregionalism, using steam-bent ash from locally-sourced thinnings, contrasting with his earlier plastic Contour chair (1968). The V&A's Make Good programme continues to champion sustainable, place-based design, drawing on these existing strands.