Materials of Design

The V&A’s Plywood exhibition provides the background for this symposium looking at the history of materials and their application in the designed world between 1850 and the present day. Speakers will address why different materials have been used for different kinds of making, and the ways in which geography, economics, politics and social context have influenced the adoption of particular materials at specific moments.

Image: Courtesy of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory