Carbon crafts

Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 – The Invisible Store of Happiness installation by British designer Sebastian Cox and sculptor Laura Ellen Bacon represents a physical manifestation of carbon footprints as well as a celebration of wood and craftsmanship.

• Commissioned by American Hardwood Export Council, the 2.8-metre-high wooden installation was built with a lower carbon footprint than an iPhone 6
• As part of CDW Presents, The Invisible Store of Happiness was designed to bring together the different techniques commonly used by Cox and Bacon in their work

‘Every time we switched on a machine, or every time we used any metal element, glue, finish or oil we measured it. We then put it all into a spreadsheet and the final figure of energy used in making [the installation] was 39kg of CO2, the equivalent to half that used to make an iPhone 6,’ Cox tells LS:N Global.

In the spirit of Whole-system Thinking, the installation explores the environmental impact of carbon emissions as well as the lower carbon footprint of hand-made crafts. Setting the challenge to make the whole piece for a lower carbon footprint than an iPhone 6 enabled viewers to compare an intangible concept with an object they could relate to.

The Big Picture: LS:N Global is reporting live from Clerkenwell Design Week, so keep an eye on our Shows section for further coverage.