Wood, which is well known as the most natural material, has been playing a very important role in the development of human society. The design concepts of promoting greens environmental protection have influenced the current society profoundly. As a culture carrier, the designing manner of using wood as the central element is very popular.

Specifically in terms of the characteristics of interior design with aesthetic as the core, the connotation of the spirit dimensions, performance characteristics as well as cultural significance of wood in the modern interior design, mainly includes the following aspects:

1) As a natural material, wood can build the ecological and natural beauty of the interior atmosphere.

2) As a sustainable material, wood can embody the social beauty of the cultural connotation in interior design.

3) Thanks to its structure and properties, wood can show the unique artistic beauty and humanity beauty by its design, pattern, color, texture elements etc.

4) Wood, with wooden building and wood products as the carriers, emphasizes the modeling beauty in the interior space through statuary art, three-dimensional construction art shaped by its rich modeling features.

5) Rosewood and other valuable timbers can enhance the sense of value of interior space.

As for the practical needs of consumers and in terms of simplicity design concept, the public prefer the design closely related to the nature and life. Because of its practicability and convenience, it will become more valued and be emphasized. Wood has formed a certain aesthetic impression in people's minds for a long time. So, using the wood element in interior design becomes a necessary and inevitable trend.

In Interior Design the Wood is Applied as:

Rustic inspired perspective flooring used is wood. Specific wood is Brazilian cherry 3/4"×5" varnished.

Tropical House Design Interior with Glass Wall and Wooden Floor (Safa, 2016)

Modern Interior Design for a living room. A dark brown Eco-friendly wood flooring along with a rectangular dark walnut coffee table.

Pagoda of Fogong Temple is the oldest existing fully-wooden pagoda in China. Built in 1056, it has survived several large earthquakes over the centuries.

Australia’s first Passive House certified building will also be part of a new breed of zero carbon multi-story buildings that use wood as a central building component. Designed by Melbourne based Studio 505 and built by the progressive developer Grocon, the Delta building is aiming to be the greenest multi-story building in Australia. 

Tamedia Office Building, Zurich Tucked into downtown Zurich, Switzerland, the seven-story headquarters for media company Tamedia puts wood on the forefront of architecture. Opened in 2013, the exterior stands out for its timber use, an aesthetic carried over fully to the interior with a celebration of wood. The design also focused on creating thermal barriers within the structure, heating and cooling spaces by the extraction of air and thereby creating a truly sustainable envelope of wood.

Photos:

Architectural Structures [online image]. Retrieved March 2014 from http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/g2679/best-wooden-structures-in-the-world/?slide=3

Rustic Interior Design [online image]. Retrieved July 21, 2013 from http://wilderland.co/contemporary-wood-floors/contemporary-wood-flooring-from-preverco-model-original-series/


Modern Interior Design [online image]. Retrieved August 13, 2011 from http://photowizdesign.com/fabulous-white-and-brown-decoration-in-cliff-road/alluring-white-and-brown-decoration-ideas-with-modern-interior-design-for-living-room-and-dark-brown-eco-friendly-wood-flooring-along-with-rectangular-dark-walnut-coffee-table/

WOOD

When we hear the word wood it's already a common knowledge that it comes from a tree. What may not be so apparent is the structure of the wood itself, and the individual components that make up any given piece of lumber. Woods are also areas in the wild, but they are much smaller. In a forest, natural sunlight barely comes through the canopy of trees, whereas sunlight is abundant in a wood. A wood has a dense growth of trees that is typically larger than a grove but smaller than a forest. Forests are either deciduous or evergreen in nature, and they are large areas where there are many animals. Trees in forests and woods grow thickly, with shrubs, underbrush and grasses flourishing between them.

Characteristics: 

Wood composites are those products made from texture of wood and other materials

Flooring

Mass-produced from timber that is used for flooring, either for both structural and aesthetic. It is the frequent choice of flooring for many homeowners, due to its durability and restorability.

DAVID SILVERMAN/GETTY IMAGES

Plastics are everywhere these days, from the parts of your computer to your clothing and everyday products. It is a material that can easily be manipulated into shape, may it be a shape of a bottle or a pen. They are made from oil, which is carbon-rich material. Plastics are composed of a carbon-containing compound called polymers.

Polymers are substances whose molecules have high molar masses and are composed of a large number of repeating units. There are both naturally occurring and synthetic polymers. Among naturally occurring polymers are proteins, starches, cellulose, and latex. Synthetic polymers are produced commercially on a very large scale and have a wide range of properties and uses. The materials commonly called plastics are all synthetic polymers.

Although not all, but most plastics are:

There are three classification of plastics: Natural, Synthetic, and Thermoplastic. This classification is considered the origin of the monomer from which part of the polymer production.

Natural - These are polymers whose monomers are derived from natural products with certain characteristics, for example, cellulose, casein and rubber. 

Source: http://blog.e2benterprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/erp-for-rubber-and-plastic-manufacturers.png

Synthetic - Those that originate in man-made, mainly petroleum products such as polyethylene bags products

Source: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/lib/different-types-of-plastic.htm

Thermoplastic - is a plastic that, at room temperature, is plastic or deformable, it becomes a liquid when heated and hardens to a glassy state when cooled sufficiently. Most thermoplastics are high molecular weight polymers, those with chains associated through weak Van der Waals forces (polyethylene); strong dipole-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonding; or even stacked aromatic rings (polystyrene). Thermoplastic polymers differ from thermoset polymers that after heated and molded form they can overheat and other objects, as in the case of thermosetting or thermoset, its shape after cooling does not change and the preferred fire.

Source: http://plasticchair.mobi/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ghost-chair.jpg

In 1988, the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) introduced the Resin Identification Code (RIC) system for recyclers due to many communities implementing recycling programs to decrease the volume of waste in landfills.  The code was developed for recyclers while providing manufacturers a consistent, uniform system. The RIC is a system to help consumers and recyclers properly recycle and dispose of each different type based on its chemical makeup. In 2008, the SPI worked with ASTM international, a standards development organization that serves as an open forum for the development of international standards.

PETE - based containers sometimes absorb flavors and odor. They are commonly recycled.

HDPE products are very safe and are known not to leach any chemicals into food or drinks. Items from this type of plastic are commonly recycled.

PVC is not often recycled and can be harmful if ingested. PVC is used for all kinds of pipes and tiles, but it's most commonly found in plumbing pipes. This kind of plastic should not come in contact with food items.

LDPE is not commonly recycled, but it is recyclable in certain areas. It tends to be both durable and flexible. It also is not known to release harmful chemicals into objects in contact with it, making it a safe choice for food storage.

PP can be recycled but is not accepted for recycling as commonly as PETE or HDPE. This type of plastic is strong and can usually withstand higher temperatures.

PS can be recycled, but not efficiently; recycling it takes a lot of energy, which means that few places accept it.

Polycarbonate and Polylactide - these types of plastics are difficult to recycle. 

Sources:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/plastic.htm

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/polymers/polymers.html

http://www.vicedomarti.com/en/information/characteristics-and-properties-of-plastic-id1609

https://www.plasticsindustry.org/AboutPlastics/content.cfm?ItemNumber=823

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/lib/different-types-of-plastic.htm

RIC system photos:

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/images/DifferentPlastics/SPI-Code-Header-01.jpg

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/images/DifferentPlastics/SPI-Code-Header-02.jpg

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/images/DifferentPlastics/SPI-Code-Header-03.jpg

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/images/DifferentPlastics/SPI-Code-Header-04.jpg

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/images/DifferentPlastics/SPI-Code-Header-05.jpg

https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/images/DifferentPlastics/SPI-Code-Header-06.jpg