Throughout the 20th century designers and engineers experimented with plywood as a material for vehicle construction. Often stronger, lighter and more elastic than metal, plywood was used flat and also moulded for the bodies of cars, sidecars and vans. Plywood's use in cars was often influenced by aeroplane and boat design and a number of companies worked across several of these fields. From , the German company DKW used moulded and flat plywood for the body of their affordable family cars.
Combatting prejudice that plywood was less reliable than metal, DKW emphasised its unique properties — strong and stress-bearing, easy to repair and quieter on the road due to better suspension.
DKW's advertisements demonstrated plywood's strength and modern, industrial credentials by showing photographs of factory workers standing on a plywood board, balanced on the roof of one of their cars. Plywood's most technologically significant use from the s to was as a material for aeroplane design.
Its strength and lightness allowed for the construction of radical new planes that revolutionised the nature of flight. In the early s, ground-breaking experiments with moulded plywood allowed for the construction of the first enclosed, streamlined aeroplane fuselages.
These moulded plywood shells — known as 'monocoque' — were strong enough to be self-supporting, meaning that the planes did not need significant internal structure or cross-bracing. The revolutionary 'monocoque' fuselage became standard in future aeroplane design. Its moulded plywood monocoque fuselage made it light and quick enough to fly without defensive weaponry.
The Air Ministry initially wanted to commission a metal plane. De Havilland convinced them to trial the Mosquito as a low-cost design that could be made relatively cheaply using workers from furniture and other wood working factories in Britain, Australia and Canada.
American designers Charles and Ray Eames experimented with plywood during the Second World War, developing a method for moulding complex curved forms. In they designed a lightweight, stackable moulded plywood leg splint for the US Navy.
Later in the war they went on to make plywood parts for aircraft. The Eames's design for the DCM dining chair metal with its three-dimensionally moulded seat was greatly influenced by their wartime work. It was one of the most influential chairs of the second half of the 20th century and was imitated and adapted by designers around the world. The s and '60s saw an explosion of do-it-yourself.
Plywood was particularly suitable for working at home. Easy to shape, it did not require complicated tools, was forgiving of amateur workmanship and was easily integrated into post-war leisure culture. From furniture to cabinets, it has good resistance to moisture in damp and humid conditions, making it a favourite material in tropical areas.
However, this is not waterproof. Amongst types of plywood, this is most favoured for both interiors and exteriors. The resistance to water makes it suitable for all weather conditions. It is commonly used in the bathrooms and kitchens where exposure to water is high. It is also used for wall cladding on the exteriors, staircases and more due to its waterproof nature.
But the similarities are minimum. The material is of superior quality and is waterproof to a great extent. Thus, its applications are found mainly in boat building and industries where exposure to water is high. Ply means layer. The thickness of the sheet is determined by the ply. More ply creates a thicker and stronger board. Beds that are made up of blockboards.
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Sep 01, Firewall: A wall between you and fire. Aug 26, A modern interior with minimal doors. Aug 25, CenturyPly: A brand that promises quality. Still, it took some decades for plywood to gain the sophisticated treatment the product now receives by architects in non-structural applications. And certainly it's only been very recently that ply has evolved as a material worthy of being featured in every room of the house, not just as a quirky product suitable for lining studios and offices.
X interiors. Other highly regarded architects, either nominated as finalists in the IDA residential categories or as winners of numerous other architectural awards, exploited the various properties of ply as a ubiquitous design element in their submissions.
It is a low-embodied energy material from a renewable resource. It is a carbon store.
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