A tiny cabin built with beetle-infested wood
Design studio HANNAH turned beetle-infested waste wood into a sculptural cabin
US-based design studio HANNAH found a way to avoid wasting huge quantities of beetle-infested timber from ash trees. The practice built a tiny cabin in upstate New York as a study of the material. It offers a sustainable construction solution.
Image: Andy Chen
An invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle infestation results in timber that is not suitable for processing by timber mills. This is because the logs have an irregular shape. The waste wood is dealt with by being burnt or is left to decompose. Both methods add to the overall carbon footprint of this ash timber.
Image: Andy Chen
The practice gave the timber a new purpose with precision 3D scanning and a robotic arm with a bandsaw attachment. ‘It’s a combination of our design research and thinking in response to the urgent condition of our natural environment and possible modes of intervention,’ says Leslie Lok, Hannah’s co-principal.
