RECENTLY erected especially for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival was the latest incarnation of Greenhouse By Joost — a pop-up restaurant that combined food, art, building design and ecology. With Greenhouse, Joost Bakker endeavours to demonstrate to people how we can live a life that’s more environmentally sustainable by making simple changes and altering perceptions.
ECOply® plywood by Carter Holt Harvey was used extensively in the new Greenhouse for non-structural cladding,
wall panels and furniture, inside and out. Joost has always been an advocate for the benefits of ECOply — low embodied energy, economical use of a sustainable resource and local production resulting in lower carbon miles and local jobs.
Another less known benefit, is the extremely low formaldehyde emissions — as tested and certified by the EWPAA. And of those almost negligible emissions, 50% is naturally emitted from the timber.
The product selected for the build was quite knotty. Designers and builders traditionally use clear face plywood (BD grade) for ‘appearance’ projects, but Joost specifically utilises lower grades including ECOply CD and DD and even packaging grade plywood. It’s a good demonstration of ‘upcycling,’ which not only makes environmental sense — it makes economic sense. ECOply is available in BD, CD and DD grades in a range of thicknesses and as demonstrated
at Greenhouse, can be used for just about anything.
