Plywood with Soul. An In-Residence Project by Steve Threlfall

Steve Threlfall is a designer, activist and maker from Liverpool. He and his project, We Make Places, were selected via the European Culture Foundation’s Idea Camp for a residency at Medialab Prado from 15 June to 16 July 2017. 

During his stay at Medialab Prado, Steve established ties with local communities to develop a “place-making” process of co-designing furniture, helping to create liveable spaces that feel like home. Specifically, Steve worked with people from the EVA collective to design a library space and with a group of young people to design a set of furniture for people with limited resources who have recently moved to a big city to look for opportunities.

Workshop with EVA

The aim of Steve’s project is to design a set of furniture using a single sheet of plywood –2.4m x 1.2 m– cut with a CNC router. Each group or community participates in the decisions made with respect to its own sheet. The set includes a table –which he views as one of the home's fundamental elements– and his goal is for another set of useful and meaningful items to be designed which will make the most of the plywood sheet, through conversations and collaboration with the community/beneficiaries of the project.

His aim is for the people who benefit from the project to be communities that have been displaced, or people who are starting to live an independent life for the first time; people who lack resources or possessions and want to feel that they are part of a new home.

The resulting file will be shared, ensuring that it is freely available. The project is being undertaken in parallel in Liverpool, enabling reflection on cultural identity through comparison of the co-created designs.

The results of the project will be presented to the public at a round table on 17 July at Medialab Prado.