The Reciprocal Development of Craft and Industry in Twentieth-Century Japan Through the Lens of Plywood as a Material

The following research examines the development of one of the prevalent architectural construction materials, plywood, with regard to its relevance in craft and industry. The early production and implementation of plywood as an industrial material coincided with the emergence of early craft movements and ideologies in early 19th-century Europe, followed by the United States, and subsequently in 20th-century Japan. The objective is to pursue the reciprocal development of craft and industry through the lens of plywood as material and as product. Wood had been a prominent craft material for centuries and required expertise in assessment and manipulation. The development of plywood, which was the first industrialization of wood, represented the transition of materiality from the craft realm to one of science and engineering, with variations extending into the realm of synthetic and composite materials. Through plywood, wood transformed into homogeneous, easily manipulatable and accessible material. Its historical development, technical aspects and correlation to crafts and industries are examined through the perspective of sociotechnical changes. While preceding research on the topic can be generally categorized into two types, industry-based and design based, this research uses both categories of sources related to key developments in plywood in parallel, as an attempt to draw associations to craft in its wide spectrum. Spanning both industry-based and design-based documents, this research observes the impact this material has had, from its early phase to its prevalence in prototyping and the DIY movement.