Charred Oak
Charred oak is the archive's silence. Where the metals gesture, the oak volumes absorb light and refuse detail, giving the cast elements something to be seen against.
The charring is done in open air rather than kiln so the burn varies slightly across each face. The variation is kept: perfectly even black would read as paint, and the point is that it is not paint.
- Charring case-hardens the surface and darkens it to a light-absorbing matte. Beneath the carbon the timber stays structural; the black is a skin, not a rot.
- Sawn square, flame-charred in open air, brushed back, oiled.
- Carbon surface sealed with hard wax oil; renewable indefinitely.
- Plantation oak, air-dried on site for a minimum of eighteen months.