The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) is collaborating with industrial product design students of the Royal College of Art of London to produce 13 chairs that will be shown in September during the London Design Festival. Under the guidance of the tutors Sebastian Wrong and Harry Richardson, the students meet the challenge of designing a functional chair or seat using one of the twenty American hardwood species presently available on the market. The projects will be transformed into prototypes with the help of Benchmark, a company that has gained international acclaim for its expertise in working with wood, and for its long collaboration with Terence Conran. This is a unique initiative, in terms of education and research, because for the first time AHEC is providing students with the results of its research in the area of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), to help them prepare a detailed assessment of the environmental impact of their projects, using the system of analysis developed for AHEC by the company PE International, specialized in sustainability. The seating series Out of the Woods will be on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum during the London Design Festival, from 14 to 23 September. The prototypes will be made by the students at the Benchmark facilities during the week of 9 July. www.americanhardwood.org.