Somerset-based designer William Floyd Maclean has created Somer, a collection of freestanding demountable wooden cabinets designed for disassembly, which will launch at London Design Festival.
Somer was designed by Floyd Maclean and his team at their Frome workshop to disrupt the “highly wasteful status quo of mass-market furniture products”, the studio said.
The result is a collection of multipurpose timber kitchen units designed in a range of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood, including spruce, Douglas fir, ash and beech – mostly of UK or European origin.
Each Somer unit is made of a solid wood frame with cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and fronts, which can be easily disassembled and reconstructed.
“Unlike conventional flatpack fittings, which frequently fail following initial assembly, we use mechanical fixings designed to endure years of use,” Floyd Maclean told Dezeen.
“They are integrated and can easily be replaced if required, and crucially, they can be removed and recycled once the product reaches its end of life.”
Characterised by clean lines and smooth surfaces, the geometric units are finished with natural stains and oils and a selection of bespoke natural paints and primers.
Somer furniture comes with a dedicated buy-back scheme that grants consumers the option to sell their old parts back to Floyd Maclean’s studio once they are finished with them.
The scheme was envisaged to encourage users to adopt a circular attitude to their furniture and avoid re-buying conventional single-use products, explained the designer.
“The buy-back scheme and the operation of our own resale platform enables us to ensure our products are kept in circulation,” said Floyd Maclean. “It’s about accountability and avoiding relying on others, like third-party marketplaces, and the associated pitfalls.”
While Somer is launching at London Design Festival (LDF), the units have already been installed at the wine bar and bottle shop that forms part of Frome’s Rye Bakery, where they stand freely, poised for disassembly if needed.
Floyd Maclean hopes that freestanding furniture like Somer will soon become the norm for developers working on large-scale projects, such as the fitting of kitchens in new-build residential apartment blocks that require plenty of the same furniture.
“Frequently, large housing schemes are kitted out with generic token or placeholder products. As a result, these products end up being the first thing to be replaced, often before they’ve reached anywhere near their life expectancy,” stressed the designer.
“The lack of perceived value in these conventional products leads to an endless cycle of waste and pollution which could be easily avoided through a more considered approach to specification from the outset,” he added.
Our proposition considers a wider picture, from supply chain to reuse right through to end of life, while ensuring the needs of our customers, our business and the environment are prioritised in equal measure.
During LDF, Somer will be unveiled as part of an installation created in collaboration with Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble. Ahead of the event, explore our roundup of must-see events taking place across the city.
Industrial Facility founders Kim Colin and Sam Hecht recently spoke to Dezeen about the importance of ensuring that furniture and other design objects stay in use for as long as possible.
The photography is by Elliot Sheppard and Lewis Ronald.
Somer will be presented as part of London Design Festival at Tuscany Wharf, 4B Orsman Road, London N1 5QJ from 20 to 21 September 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
