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Make Good Symposium 2026 (In-person)
What if our built environment was shaped by local, climate resilient, mixed-species forest? Make Good hosts an afternoon of thought-provoking talks from scientists, designers, manufacturers, lawyers, architects and developers.
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Past Event
The 2026 Make Good symposium brings together leading scientists, designers, manufacturers, lawyers, architects and developers to discuss how we can grow better forests in the UK, harvest the material they offer responsibly and build with it locally. As such, it takes its cue from dRMM's research into local hardwood, currently on display at the V&A in Building from Forests.
** In-person tickets have sold out on this booking page – but we have a reserve list of 20 seats. If you would like to be added to our reserve list, or to have access to the livestream link, please email us **
Symposium overview:
Introductions by Anna Bates, V&A and Jonas Lencer, dRMM
Material and Making
Marlene Cramer, Edinburgh Napier University
Nick Gant, Designer and Researcher
Je Ahn, Studio Weave
Building
Louise Rogers, BE-ST
Jonathan Smales, Human Nature
Civic Infrastructure
Paul Powlesland, Lawyers for Nature
Imandeep Kaur, Civic Square
Concluding remarks by Christopher Wilk, V&A
The symposium forms part of the fifth iteration of the Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures programme, supported by John Makepeace OBE. The ten-year project launched in 2022 and encompasses an annual display in the Dr Susan Weber Gallery of Furniture, an annual symposium and a programme of acquisitions dedicated to exploring the use of renewable, natural materials in design and architecture at a time of climate emergency.
Please use the #makegood tag when posting about the symposium. To find out about future events and sign up to our quarterly newsletter, please visit: vam.ac.uk/info/make-good
** In-person tickets have sold out on this booking page – but we have a reserve list of 20 seats. If you would like to be added to our reserve list, or to have access to the livestream link, please email us **
Symposium overview:
Introductions by Anna Bates, V&A and Jonas Lencer, dRMM
Material and Making
Marlene Cramer, Edinburgh Napier University
Nick Gant, Designer and Researcher
Je Ahn, Studio Weave
Building
Louise Rogers, BE-ST
Jonathan Smales, Human Nature
Civic Infrastructure
Paul Powlesland, Lawyers for Nature
Imandeep Kaur, Civic Square
Concluding remarks by Christopher Wilk, V&A
The symposium forms part of the fifth iteration of the Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures programme, supported by John Makepeace OBE. The ten-year project launched in 2022 and encompasses an annual display in the Dr Susan Weber Gallery of Furniture, an annual symposium and a programme of acquisitions dedicated to exploring the use of renewable, natural materials in design and architecture at a time of climate emergency.
Please use the #makegood tag when posting about the symposium. To find out about future events and sign up to our quarterly newsletter, please visit: vam.ac.uk/info/make-good
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Header image: Photograph by Thomas Adank