Designing “Forest” into Daily Lives for Sustainability: A Case Study of Taiwanese Wooden Furniture Design

• Main Authors: Chen, T.-L (Author), Sun, Y. (Author), Yen, C.-C (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2023
• Subjects: carbon footprint; carbon-negative furniture; Forest in Living; sustainable development; Taiwan wooden furniture
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher; View in Scopus

 Taiwan’s forest resources are abundant, diverse, and of high quality. However, Taiwan’s self-sufficiency rate for timber is only 1.2%. How to build Taiwan’s local wooden furniture brand to improve quality of life and achieve sustainable development is worth considering. This study adopted a qualitative research method using Taiwan’s local carbon-negative furniture brand “Forest in Living” as a case study. We used communication theory to construct a conceptual model that was then used to analyze the design and promotion of furniture. Carbon-negative furniture makes people feel like they are living and breathing deep in the forest, which is one of the best ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint. The Forest in Living furniture is full of Taiwanese characteristics and firmly captures the country’s foundation and soul. The designers have great respect for wood and strong control over the characteristics of the material, and the furniture has unique characteristics and rich content. In the future, we will further study the findings of this paper by inviting consumers to express their views on the design concepts and finished products of this type of furniture, which will be used to examine whether the design concepts can be recognized by consumers. © 2023 by the authors.