Designed by Diez Office in collaboration with OMC°C and presented by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), VERT is a sustainable installation created for the London Design Festival 2024. Installed in the courtyard of Chelsea College of Arts, it adapts the VERD system for a timber-based structure, offering a modular and scalable approach to urban greening.
VERT offers a shaded and inviting space for visitors to gather and relax, with hammocks made from the same vibrant orange netting as the planters suspended throughout the structure, seamlessly combining functionality with aesthetics.
The structure is crafted from glue-laminated American red oak, a sustainable building material, and assembled using glulam, an innovative technology that bonds thin layers of timber to create robust and efficient structural elements.
“We have been enthusiastic about the aesthetic possibilities and environmental benefits of red oak since learning about the species, and continue to experiment with it”
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VERT for AHEC
2024
VERT is a sustainable installation designed by Diez Office in collaboration with OMC°C and presented by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) for the London Design Festival 2024. Set in the courtyard of Chelsea College of Arts, it reinterprets the VERD system using wood, offering a scalable and adaptable solution for urban greening.
The structure consists of slender beams of American red oak, arranged in a network of triangular connections to form a lightweight yet stable framework. Rising nearly 10 meters high and spanning 10 by 14 meters, it supports plant sails up to 10 by 3.5 meters wide. With certified wood, flax-based textile planters, and biodegradable nets, the installation is composed of 80% renewable raw materials, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability.
Designed for adaptability, the pavilion’s modular elements allow it to be dismantled and rebuilt multiple times. After its four-week display, VERT was carefully dismantled and stored, with plans to reassemble it at a new location in summer 2025.
In collaboration with AHEC, OMC°C, Neue Holzbau, London Design Festival, Forward Studio & Stage 1
Together with Louis Betin
London Design Festival , 2024
