Stacked, is the Secret Design Bunker’s first series of design explorations. The series celebrates the materiality of plywood and experiments with the potential forms in can be used to create. Plywood is often considered a rough material, prized for its versatility and durability and is used in a wide range of applications. With Stacked, we wanted to highlight the softer sides of plywood and resist the tendency to treat it as a linear material. Our exploration yielded a series of objects whose fluid forms and smooth surfaces accentuate the material’s subtle beauty.

 With a mix of craftsmanship and technology, the stacked series bridges the gap between human and machine. To create accurate contours and consistent shapes, we employed the use of a CNC router. Our CNC router is affectionately known as the Beaver as it chewed up many prototypes until we harnessed its power to create the components we needed. Technology is great, but it cannot mimic the care of the human hand. We spent countless hours hand finishing each object to ensure the surface flowed seamlessly with its contours. Our goal was to transform the properties of the material and when a man doing renovations in our shop said:

“I thought these were made of plywood, but when I picked one up and looked at it I thought “It can’t be plywood, this just doesn’t make sense!”