HAYWARD, CA - Tournesol Siteworks is giving urban wood a second lease on life in its new line of Boulevard outdoor benches.

Wood for Tournesol Sitework's benches is being sourced from domestically felled urban trees, which would typically be mulched and dumped in a landfill. Instead, the urban wood is being modified through thermal heat treatment in a special kiln, creating what Tournesol Siteworks describes as "a 25-year wood just as durable and attractive as the exotic species" it is being used in place of for outdoor benches.

The thermal modification process changes a wood’s cell structure as if it had aged 120-150 years, Tournesol Siteworks says. The process reduces the wood’s moisture content, darkens the surface, and creates "a highly stable, durable wood that compares favorably to rainforest hardwoods like ipé and teak," the company says.

“Upcycling wood that otherwise would be going to the landfill was a logical choice for our new line of benches and tables,” said Christopher Lyon, president of Tournesol Siteworks. “We can even take a town’s own downed trees, and return them to the customer in the form of high-quality street furnishings.”

Tournesol Siteworks' future plans call for expanding the use of thermally modified urban wood to other commercial landscape applications such as decking and wood tiles.