The Rubberwood tree may be in decline as a source of natural rubber, but its popularity as a material to make products, is definitely in demand at the Design Centre of the Alice Smith Secondary School, Equine Park in Seri Kembangan.


Students have been designing and making use of the newly named material "Malaysian Oak" as part of their design course. The material's aesthetic qualities have been captured in a lecturn made for the School's main hall, storage units, bedside cabinets, and even a baby cot. Students, ranging from 11 to 18 years old, have made all the products in the school's well-equipped workshops.


If you are familiar with the width of a rubber tree trunk, (you can put your arms around it and cuddle it) you may be wondering how such large items have been constructed. Wood manufacturers are exploting the eco-friendly wood by making strong and stable laminated board. The small planks of Rubberwood are glued together to form larger sheets. Not only does this make the wood more useful but it ensures that most of the tree is used. But, that is not the end of the story - the waste and even the smallest of pieces can be salvaged, as the rubberwood is processed into fibres, pressurised and glued to form MDF (Manufactured Fibre Board). Yet another material used at the school to make products ranging from CD racks to coffee tables. This time a veneer of local timber is applied to the surface of the MDF improving the quality of finish


If looking good is not enough the Rubberwood's ablility to withstand impact has been used in the creation of children's toys. A group of students have designed and made push-a-long mechanical toys which have been tested to their limits in real situations at the Alice Smith Primary School on the Jalan Bellamy site. This gave the designers a real insight into the demands placed on their products and of the durability of Rubberwood.


A recent creative exhibition of work held in the Alice Smith Design Centre's new mezzanine suite captured the many uses of Malaysia's new popular wood. So next time you sit down and read the paper, see if your coffee bar is using rubberwood furniture and if so you may wonder who designed it.