Timber terrazzo

In the construction of buildings, waste streams are everywhere. The permanence and solidity of each crafted detail of a structure is in contrast to the equal and opposite material that is discarded in its creation – and the pristine final product helpfully obscures the messy world of waste that afforded it. This waste includes offcuts of timber and steel, piles of concrete rubble, and unused drywall that never makes it to the walls. Packaging from materials, broken tiles, and excess insulation also accumulate, often destined for landfills unless diverted for recycling or reuse.

For efficiency and affordability reasons, these waste streams have often been put to good use: larger offcuts of timber can be reused on other construction sites or in joinery packages, and crushed concrete, brick, and stone waste have historically been used as fill for foundations, road bases, or drainage layers. But still there are many untapped waste streams. "When we think about waste, it's about something that can't necessarily be reduced and then isn't part of an existing circular economy" says Conor Taylor, co-founder and director of Foresso. "We're very small, our impact is small, and so disrupting an existing circular economy is not efficient."

Felled logs arriving at the workshop. Image Credit, Foresso, Handover Agency

Terrazzo has a long history as a product of waste, originating in Italy where workers in the marble trade used stone chips to form durable, decorative surfaces. It is in this vein that Foresso was created: transforming discarded wood into a durable and useful material that is built on circular design principles. While working in a carpentry workshop, Conor observed the waste that came from high end joinery projects – endless woodchip that had no other use other than to be burnt to warm the workshop. Recognising that timber had been overlooked as a potential aggregate for terrazzo, Conor developed Foresso, which combines the warmth and natural beauty of wood with the durability and functionality of traditional terrazzo. Its rich, organic textures and patterns, making it suitable for a range of interior applications like many other sheet materials – with it most commonly being used as bathroom or kitchen worktops, splash backs and tabletops.

Foresso finds themselves a part of a much wider circular economy. They use reliable and consistent industrial byproducts, such as sawdust, offcuts, and even mineral powders like white cement and plaster waste. They partner with carpenters, collecting both their sawdust and waste wood, as well as with a prefabricated housing company, taking the end of their oak beams. Working with streams of industrial waste has the advantage of being more trustworthy and consistent than consumer waste: the ends of oak beams come from a factory environment and are therefore purely seasoned oak, and without the nails and ties that are introduced on a building site. By paying for and actively collecting these byproducts, Foresso helps establish a market for waste materials, reinforcing the idea that sustainability can align with economic viability. As Conor points out: "Often people are like, oh, you must get it for free, which must make it so cheap. But we actually have kind of established the market rate for this and we pay for it." This is true for all the waste they collect apart from sawdust, which manufacturers ordinarily have to pay to get rid of, and Foresso employs in their terrazzo mixture to add a speckle to the materials, which Taylor says adds a "visual noise" and takes away the high contrast that can make it look unnatural.

Sawdust. Image Credit, Foresso, Handover Agency

There is one particular supplier of Foresso’s raw waste material that seems to slot perfectly into this mindset, and continue the circle. Most trees in London that need to be felled are chipped and burned, but the East London-based company Fallen & Felled save the timber, milling it into characterful timber boards, that can be repurposed into useful, beautiful interiors and objects that lock carbon in. Fallen & Felled’s Patrick Welsh explains, "we mill logs to create nice boards – that we air and kiln dry – to be used to make furniture. In the process, there is inevitably wood that is scrap – too short, odd shaped, poor quality." One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and just as chefs embrace nose-to-tail cooking to ensure no part of an animal goes to waste, together Foresso and Fallen & Felled ensure no part of a tree is left unused; trunk-to-branch. Instead of discarding these offcuts, they are given new life.

Left: London Plane felled on Kensington Park Gardens - Right: Various logs to be milled. Image Credit, Fallen & Felled

The visual appeal of Foresso's wood terrazzo lies in its organic patterns and subtle imperfections. Each panel is unique, featuring the character of the wood species it contains — be it rich walnut, classic oak, or warm London plane. The various binder colours transform the look of each species, with the neutral whites of their Ivory Oak range, having a totally different quality to the dark brown hues of their Chocolate Oak. This organic randomness gives Foresso surfaces a tactile quality that invites touch. Unlike many conventional sheet materials used in interiors, Foresso contains no VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) or formaldehyde – the nasty substances typically used in the adhesives and resins that bind particles or layers together.

Sage London Plane sheet being oiled. Image Credit, Foresso, Handover Agency

Its plywood base provides strength and structural stability, while the wood terrazzo surface behaves similarly to a traditional wooden worktop, being more durable than solid wood, and less durable than a solid surface like quartz or copper. It is able to withstand moderate heat, and the plywood base gives strength to the otherwise breakable material. Conor explains, "the surface is really impact resistant, but brittle if it was on its own, plywood is not very impact resistant but very flexible. So to make something that’s actually really strong we combine the two."

Bianco London Plane sheet in the workshop. Image Credit, Foresso, Handover Agency

Foresso currently produces 400 sheets per month — a modest output for a primarily B2B supplier. This translates to five tons of wood waste, or approximately 10 cubic metres, being repurposed each month. Scaling up production remains a challenge, but Foresso’s ability to harness and transform waste materials is a deliberate and thoughtful approach and embodies a slowness that directly counters the fast furniture mindset that fuelled the very waste it seeks to eliminate.

Ellen Peirson is an architect and writer based in London.