News: miracle material graphene has been used to develop infrared sensors, which could be inserted into contact lenses and allow the wearer to see in the dark.
Engineers at the University of Michigan have used graphene – a material formed from a single layer of carbon atoms – to create sensors that can detect the full spectrum of light, including infrared.
The sensors detect light by measuring the behaviour of electrons and changes in current between two layers of the material, separated by an insulator.
Usually infrared sensors such as those found in night-vision goggles require bulky cooling to prevent the devices overheating, increasing their size.
However, the graphene sensors do not require cooling so can be produced as small as a fingernail and developed to be tinier still.
Once small enough, the sensors could be embedded into contact lenses or mobile phones camera lenses and used to create imagery in completely dark environments.
News: construction is now underway on a 222-metre skyscraper by New York studios HWKN and Handel Architects that is set to become the tallest building in the state of New Jersey.
Named Journal Squared, the residential development will be located in the Journal Square district of Jersey City, adjacent to the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail station that links the city with Manhattan.
Designed as a collaboration between HWKN and Handel Architects, the development will accommodate 1840 apartments within a cluster of three pointed towers, each clad externally with metal panels.
The 222-metre structure will rise up at the front of the site and will be accompanied by towers of 193 and 175 metres, making it visible from the New Jersey Turnpike and from New York across the water.
The base of the towers are designed to break down into smaller volumes to relate to the scale of surrounding buildings, offering a series of ground-floor restaurants and shops.
“Our goal was to design an urban space that knits together the existing urban fabric of Journal Square, while also creating an iconic presence in the skyline that can be seen from Manhattan,” said Matthias Hollwich, partner-in-charge at HWKN.
“We designed a building that works equally well at the scale of the Turnpike, where hundreds of thousands of people will see it every day, and at the scale of the human who walks and lives in the city,” added HWKN partner Marc Kushner.
Integral to the proposal are public realm improvements that will overhaul the rear entrance to the station, replacing loading bays and parking areas with a tree-filled public plaza expected to play host to farmer’s markets and outdoor film screenings.
“Journal Square offers a new urban community, not just for the people who will live here, but for the region. It will be a place that people will be passionate about,” commented Handel Architects principal Gary Handel.
The project is funded by property developer KRE Group. The first phase of development will be the smallest of the three towers and is scheduled for completion in 2016.
Here’s some extra information from HWKN:
Tallest building in New Jersey breaks ground, designed by Hollwich Kushner (HWKN) and Handel Architects
Journal Squared is an important milestone as Jersey City’s development boom moves inland. The project sits adjacent to the Journal Square PATH stop and promises to bring great density to the site while working to connect to the existing fabric of the neighbourhood.
Journal Squared is that long sought after transformational project. Unanimously approved by the Jersey City Planning Board, it will be the linchpin in the City’s Journal Square redevelopment efforts. The development hopes to create a prototype for future transit-oriented developments around the world.
Pivotal to the project’s design is the transformation of the current back entrance to the Journal Square PATH stop into an inviting place and a public amenity. Acres of land previously dedicated to asphalt, station loading, and parking will be reclaimed in a sweeping, tree-filled plaza that is activated by community events such as farmer’s markets, bicycle parking, evening film projections and events along its low stairs that slope down to the PATH station.
The 2.3 million square foot project touches the ground lightly as its mass morphs into smaller units to relate to the lower density neighbourhood around it. This base hosts active program like retail, restaurants, lobbies and parking. Three residential point towers rise above the base and include 1,840 units. The tallest tower, at 70 storeys, is expected to be the highest residential building in New Jersey. The first of three phases, topping out at 54 stories, broke ground in January 2014, and is expected to be complete in mid-2016.
The graceful proportion and subtle lustre of the metal panel clad towers will be an elegant centrepiece for the community and a bold counterpoint to the brutalist concrete PATH Station. In addition, Bruce Mau Design has developed the visual identity for Journal Squared, including wayfinding, signage, and environmental graphics. BMD created a look and feel that reflects Journal Squared’s core values as a bold, modern brand that is sophisticated and energetic, while staying true to the history of the neighbourhood.
In this movie we filmed in Miami, Daniel Widrig says that designers can break down boundaries between disciplines by borrowing technologies and tools traditionally associated with one industry and using them in other industries, in unexpected ways.
“A lot of technology we use was originally developed for use in other disciplines such as special effects or the movie industries,” says Widrig. “One could say that boundaries are blurring between industries”
Visualisation of Crystallization dress by Iris van Herpen, Daniel Widrig and .MGX by Materialise
His architectural background feeds into his ongoing research into using 3D-printing for clothing and jewellery, says Widrig.
“We work with the body in quite an architectural way: we investigated certain body parts and then we applied design processes to populate body parts with architectural microstructures,” he says.
Daniel Widrig Kinesis 3D-printed body adornments for Luminaire
For Widrig, it is often the experimental, low-budget projects that yield the most new ideas.
“The most interesting projects for me are the self-imitated projects where you set yourself a goal and an agenda and you work with sometimes really small budgets, but you have the freedom to explore,” he explained.
These then feed into more commercial projects, from experimental furniture to sculpture, computer game design and movie sets.
Daniel Widrig Kinesis 3D-printed body adornments for Luminaire
The music featured in the movie is a track by Simplex. You can listen to his music on Dezeen Music Project.
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers is a year-long collaboration with MINI exploring how design and technology are coming together to shape the future.
Dezeen promotion: international brands will be launching new products at this year’s May Design Series event, taking place in London from 18 to 20 May.
Almost 300 designers and brands have signed up to exhibit at The Furniture Show, one of four sections in the May Design Series.
The May Design Series will take place from 18 to 20 May at London’s ExCeL exhibition centre.
For more information about the event and to register for a free pass to attend, visit the May Design Series website.
Here’s some more information from the organisers:
International innovative and all including – It’s a new dawn!
Exhibitors show their unparalleled support for the UK’s definitive international furnishing fair as close to 300 brands sign up for the show.
The Furniture Show at May Design Series, organised by UBM Live Built Environment, is delighted to announce a truly international offering at this year’s show set to deliver just what the industry has been waiting for; an event with a wealth of new, established, international and UK brands signed to the show.
Furniture by Gallery Direct
We are thrilled to announce a 30% increase in international exhibitors from over 15 countries and the Furniture Show will be joined by Danalight, Stone Italia, Mango Crafts, Alpine Lounger and Weavart to name a few. Plus, an incredible 72% new brands are now joining the best line up to date.
We take a behind the scenes look at the new products that will be available to visitors as well as the sentiment from exhibitors, partners and associations on what they’re looking forward to seeing at this year’s show.
With over 100 brands specifically previewing at The Furniture Show at May Design Series we are pleased to welcome familiar favourites and those both new and ambitious to be part of the move to the London show such as Gallery Direct, Albioncourt, SITS, Chapel Street and Collins & Hayes to name but a few. Mazhar Ayub, Managing Director, and Highgate Beds said: “We’re very excited about The Furniture Show. London is the capital of the country, so why shouldn’t it be the capital of the industry? I’m confident that London is the best place for the show to be going forward.”
Furniture by Gallery Direct
At the heart of the UK’s definitive international furnishing fair are UK’s leading design names and we thrilled to have created a proposition that has made many UK suppliers come out of the woodwork, including including Parker and Farr, Velda, Kozmo Furniture and Original Bedstead. Original Bedstead Director, Tony Dham said, “I’m delighted that The Furniture Show is coming to London as this is without a doubt the right choice of location for the event – not only is The Original Bedstead Company back at the show, but we intend to stay. The Original Bedstead Company will be using this opportunity to showcase our extensive new ranges of metal, wooden and painted bedsteads, as well as our recent collection of linens – I’m seriously looking forward to it!”
Strengthening the international offering will be focus areas from around the world including Design China, a collaboration with our sister event Furniture China creating a one-stop destination to see the latest in original Chinese design. May Design Series will also be working with the Portuguese association AIMMP to showcase companies renowned for their craftsmanship and quality, highlighting some of the best pieces to come out of Portugal.
Lamps by Enigma Lighting
It’s clear that London is deemed the gateway to the UK market, and we are pleased to introduce suppliers that not only are new to the UK market but show exclusives. New and inspirational brands to May Design Series and include Gwinner, Casamania, Dune, Ebb and Flow and Pp Mobler. Matthew Rhodhes from Danish brand Pp Mobler was keen to add on signing: “We are delighted to be rounding of the exhibition season by showing at May Design Series. Coming to London after Milan feels like a natural step to take, and it is uplifting to see that London now has a long-awaited internationally competitive event. PP Mobler will be using this opportunity to celebrate 100 years of Hans Wegner by presenting a contemporary take on some of his most well known designs, as well as introducing some brand new collections to the UK market, which we are very much looking forward to.”
Phillip Westgarth at SITS agrees: “The industry needs a successful London event to compete with the international fairs in the likes of Cologne and Milan, but crucially the timing of the May Design Series means that not only is it positioned perfectly to catch the peak of the retail cycle, but it does not clash with any other significant events on the calendar – making it an important place for Sits to be. The May Design Series is the ideal opportunity to showcase Sits to the contract market, as well as independent retailers, and we are looking forward to what promises to be a lucrative show. It’s good to see a London venue become home to an international interiors trade event.”
Tim Robinson, UK Agent for Koiner said: “After a 9 year break from showing in the UK, we felt that this year’s May Design Series was the right time and location for us to exhibit again.”
Lighting by Ebb & Flow
Industry associations too have shown their support, Dids MacDonald, Chief Executive, ACID said: “The ACID team is very excited to be getting involved with May Design Series this year. Anti Copying in Design (ACID) is committed to raising awareness of Intellectual Property issues in the design industry, and what better place to spread the message than at an international furnishings fair. By encouraging originality in design we hope to strengthen the industry for many years to come, and we look forward to offering help and advice – from frequently asked questions to more complex issues – at the show in May. We will also be launching ACID Marketplace, the UK’s first design and IP exchange, a safer trading conduit between designers and design buyers.”
Veronica Dunn, Marketing Manager at The Furniture Makers added: “As the charity for the furnishing industry, The Furniture Makers’ Company is looking forward to having the chance to see and meet so many new and interesting companies exhibiting at the May Series. It promises to be a great event!”
May Design Series 2014 will amass close to 400 exhibitors in 5 distinct sectors right through from Furniture, Decor, Lighting [including Arc], Kitchens & Bathrooms and DX. The Furniture Show at May Design Series, new for 2014 will welcome a preview of what is to come in 2015 -the destination for new products covering each interior space.
May Design Series will run from the 18-20 May at London ExCeL. Visit the website to register for your complimentary pass.
News: architects including Tadao Ando, Rem Koolhaas, Kengo Kuma, Thom Mayne and Elizabeth Diller have launched an urgent appeal to Russian president Vladimir Putin to halt demolition of Moscow’s iconic Shukhov Radio Tower.
The group is among a host of names from the fields of art, architecture and engineering to have signed an open letter to Putin calling for the preservation of the 160-metre conical steel structure, which was completed by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov in 1922 and has been dubbed as the Russian equivalent of the Eiffel Tower.
Written by historian Jean-Louis Cohen and photographer Richard Pare, both experts in Soviet architecture, the letter claims the tower represents “a unique contribution of Russian engineering genius” and “an essential part of Moscow’s heritage”.
It reads: “The Shabolovka Radio Tower, the largest such structure ever built, remains as Vladimir Shukhov’s masterpiece and his monument. It is one of the emblems of Moscow, and one of the superlative engineering feats of the twentieth century, still influencing and enriching technical and architectural ideas globally.”
Moscow’s Shukhov Tower – image courtesy of Shutterstock
The text also notes that the tower’s replacement could take advantage of a planning loophole, allowing it to bypass the city’s usual nine-storey height restriction and extend up to 50 storeys, presenting “a golden opportunity for a cynical modern Erostratus”.
Other prominent figures to have signed the petition include Tate director Nicholas Serota, Columbia University’s Robin Middleton, Canadian Centre for Architecture founder Phyllis Lambert and Royal Academy of Arts curator Kate Goodwin.
The campaign to save the tower was launched following an announcement on 25 February that the Russian State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting had agreed to dismantling the steel diagrid, having left it to deteriorate for years.
In 2009 Putin had expressed support for restoring the tower and transforming it into a tourist attraction. The following year Norman Foster put his backing towards a campaign to save the “structure of dazzling brilliance and great historical importance”, thought to have inspired the Gherkin skyscraper.
An open letter to President Vladimir Putin concerning the fate of the Shukhov Radio Tower on Shabolovka St. Moscow. March 13 2014
Respected President Vladimir Putin,
On February 25, 2014, the Russian State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting agreed to the dismantling of the celebrated Shabolovka Radio Tower in Moscow, designed by the engineer Vladimir Shukhov and completed in 1922. No conclusive evidence of danger has been demonstrated, although deferred maintenance has had negative effects on the surface of the structure. This superlative work of modern engineering and architecture has withstood the test of time both in its structural innovation and as a symbol of the city of Moscow thanks to the genius of its designer and builder, Vladimir Shukhov, who is generally considered the Russian equivalent of Gustave Eiffel.
Built in order to broadcast wireless programmes of the early Soviet era, the transmitting tower was developed from the research into hyperboloids undertaken in the late 19th century by Shukhov. Using variants on the basic form, hundreds of water tanks, electrical pylons and lighthouses were erected throughout Russia. So brilliant was the concept that the design was even incorporated into US Navy dreadnoughts where the structural type was used for constructing observation and communications masts. The Shabolovka Radio Tower, the largest such structure ever built, remains as Vladimir Shukhov’s masterpiece and his monument. It is one of the emblems of Moscow, and one of the superlative engineering feats of the twentieth century, still influencing and enriching technical and architectural ideas globally. Yet this masterpiece, featured in all the histories of engineering and architecture, is now threatened with being torn down in order to be replaced by new construction. The opportunity presents itself for a speculative developer to take advantage of the fact that, under present planning regulations, it is permitted to build to the same height as an existing structure on any particular lot, without the requirement for any further planning permission. Most of central Moscow, in which the Radio Tower site is included, is restricted to nine stories, approximately 25m. The Radio Tower at 150m, should it be replaced, would permit a structure of about 50 stories, a golden opportunity for a cynical modern Erostratus.
Dismantling the tower and storing its components in order to rebuild it later, even if it were possible to do so, would be extremely hazardous, as there is no guarantee that reconstruction will even be possible. Most importantly, the link of the tower to the Shabolovka neighbourhood, a distinguished housing scheme of the heroic early Soviet period would be lost, also lost would be its function as a key component in the Moscow panorama and cityscape. The hypothetical structure, if it were to be recreated elsewhere, would lose much of its historical significance and all of its urban context.
Respected President Putin, we are urging you to take immediate steps to assure the preservation of this essential part of Moscow’s heritage, a unique contribution of Russian engineering genius to world culture. Instead of being dismantled, there is an urgent need for its careful conservation along international standards and to nominate this masterpiece into the UNESCO World Heritage List. This necessity has been discussed by national and international experts for decades. Please assure that this great structure be permitted to remain as a beacon and symbol of progressive, forward looking civilisation.
News: director of Zaha Hadid Architects Patrik Schumacher has taken to Facebook to launch an attack on political correctness in architecture and a perceived trend for prioritising art over form-making.
In a post this morning, Schumacher accused the judges of the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale of being motivated by a “misguided political correctness” and said that architects need to “stop confusing architecture and art”.
“Architects are in charge of the form of the built environment, not its content,” said Schumacher.
“We need to grasp this and run with this despite all the (ultimately conservative) moralizing political correctness that is trying to paralyse us with bad conscience and arrest our explorations if we cannot instantly demonstrate a manifest tangible benefit for the poor – as if the delivery of social justice is the architect’s competency.”
An installation documenting the Torre David vertical slum in Caracas won the Golden Lion award for the best project at the last biennale, which was curated by David Chipperfield. Best pavilion was awarded to the Toyo Ito-curated Japanese pavilion, which focused on alternative housing concepts for the homes that were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Two weeks ago, Zaha Hadid responded to questions about migrant worker deaths in Qatar, where her stadium is currently under construction, by saying that architects have nothing to do with the workers. “It’s not my duty as an architect to look at it,” said Hadid.
“STOP political correctness in architecture. But also: STOP confusing architecture and art.
“Architects are in charge of the FORM of the built environment, not its content. We need to grasp this and run with this despite all the (ultimately conservative) moralizing political correctness that is trying to paralyse us with bad conscience and arrest our explorations if we cannot instantly demonstrate a manifest tangible benefit for the poor – as if the delivery of social justice is the architect’s competency.
“Unfortunately all the prizes given by the last architecture biennale where motivated by this misguided political correctness. STOP political correctness in architecture! And yet, architecture is not a l’art pour l’art discipline. Architecture is NOT ART although FORM is our specific contribution to the evolution of world society.
“We need to understand how new forms can make a difference for the progress of world civilisation. I believe today this implies the intensification of communicative interaction with a heightened sense of being connected within a complex, variegated spatial order where all spaces resonate and communicate with each other via associative logics.”
News: architecture firm OMA is working on designs for a 167-metre skyscraper on Folsom Street in San Francisco.
OMA has teamed up with property developer Related California and non-profit organisation Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation to plan the tower as part of a residential development offering a mix of homes for sale and rent, of which 27 percent will be affordable.
Led by OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu, the design also features a pair of podium buildings and a row of townhouses.
The development will be constructed on a city-owned plot between First Street and Fremont Street – one of 11 sites being sold off to pay for the $4.2 billion Transbay Transit Centre housing development nearby.
The OMA team is understood to have offered San Francisco’s Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure $72 million for the plot, coming in ahead of bids from developers Millennium Partners and Golub & Co.
A seven-storey block of flats by Guérin & Pedroza Architects is the latest addition to a project transforming the site of a nineteenth century fort outside Paris into a new residential district (+ slideshow).
The Issy-les-Moulineaux fort was one of 16 built around the French capital between 1841 and 1845 that played a part in protecting the city from Prussian invasion. It became wasteland after it was decommissioned and was bought from the Ministry of Defence by the local government in 2010.
Public facilities were built, including fitness trails, a swimming pool and a bowling pitch for future occupants, and further plots sold on to a series of developers.
Parisian firm Guérin & Pedroza‘s contribution, situated in the northern part of the fort with views over eastern Paris, is one of four blocks built by developer Bouygues Immoblier as part of the project.
The shape of the block respects the original outline specified by over-arching masterplanners Architecture Studio.
It contains 74 flats, ranging from studios to five bedroom homes, arranged along central corridors. Rather than create uniform volumes, the architects made each flat unique by hollowing out or filling in the facades to create balconies, loggias and terraces.
Each intervention is clad in a gold material to make it stand out further.
Hot water and heating is provided using geothermal energy provided by a 700-metre-deep well and heat pumps, and waste collection is also handled underground with a pneumatic removal system.
During the period of the Prussian invasions, the politician Adolphe Thiers erected defensive walls around Paris named after him. Between 1841 and 1845, 16 forts were built around the city. One after the other, they lost their military status. Among these military wastelands, the Issy-les-Moulineaux fort, known today as the “Digital fort”, an eco-district project carried out notably by Bouygues Immobilier. This grouping gathers 18 blocks of residential flats, a day nursery and two school complexes.
Concerning leisure, the curtains have been recycled into two-kilometre-long fitness trails; a swimming pool and a bowling pitch have also been created. If the programme has somehow been thought as a garden of Eden, the developers have meant to give digital touch with a systematic optical fibre cabling of the buildings and home automation.
An ellipse to fill in
Within this multi-authors programme, the building lies within a wider urban project with various authors. The general plan of the fort and of thus the shape of the blocks was designed by the French team of Architecture Studio which won the 2000 competition. Guerin & Pedroza chose to respect that shape while giving it a strong identity. The seven-storey building has 74 flats —from studio to five-bedroom— arranged along central corridors. The bigger ones are duplexes.
The situation of the villa in the northern part of the fort, along a north/south axis, offers a special view on the east of Paris and opens widely to the south on orchard. Each flat is made specific by hollowing out or filling in the façades. Thus, the orientations either follow the original geometry of the building or that of new the openings.
A precious and useful touch
A series of polymorphous inclusions make the regularity of the general plan more dynamic. A bright golden cladding adds value to those spaces carved into the white volume. It stages the balconies, loggias and terraces where the inhabitants will enjoy the outer living areas. At sunrise and sunset, lights and reflections will be enhanced for the pleasure of the users.
About environment
Four hectares out of twelve are dedicated to green spaces and most notably an orchard that counts 350 trees spread around the villas. Concerning sustainable development, two 700-metre-deep geothermal wells have been set and cover 78% of the production of hot water and heating needed for the whole fort. A pneumatic waste collection system gathers all the rubbish into two spots at the entrance of the fort, thus avoiding trucks within the site. Besides, all the flats located on the ground floor enjoy a private garden.
Technical details
Programme: 74 low-energy flats (studio to 5-bedroom) Location: Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine, France) Client: Bouygues Immobilier Architects: Guérin & Pedroza Architects Collaborators: F.Mouly and S. Videment Builder: Bouygues Bâtiment Total surface area: 4016m2 Material used: Concrete structure, aluminium clapboard cladding, thermo-lacquered aluminium railing, thin coating over external wall insulation, and white PVC exterior window and door frames. Cost: 7,23 millions euros off tax
A wooden pod resembling the woven structure of a bird’s nest can be used for meetings at this sales office for a property development in Mumbai by local firm Planet 3 Studios (+ slideshow).
Planet 3 Studios was asked to create a sales area for the Baya Park development in central Mumbai and suggested incorporating it into the building’s lobby.
The designers produced a space that meets the practical requirements of a public reception while providing private meeting spaces, including a nest-like structure influenced by the birds after which the client company is named.
“Baya weaver birds make exquisitely complex nests and the brand name and identity borrow from iconographic imagery that is associated with the birds,” said the designers. “Our key idea was to build a sculptural, dynamic, fluid form that evokes the Baya nest in an outscaled way.”
The nest is constructed from a curving frame of plywood ribs that narrows as it nears the ceiling and is clad in strips of pine salvaged from inside shipping containers.
Its organic form provides a sculptural presence in the lobby, while the woven surface lets daylight from the adjacent windows filter into the interior.
Other references to nature featured in the interior design include a living wall of plants behind the reception desk that reinforces the client’s organic branding.
A green back-painted glass wall in a separate meeting room continues the natural motif, and complements dark walnut panelling that is used on nearby walls.
The Baya bird logo appears as transfers on windows, which are also used to create a pattern of leaves on the glass behind the nest.
Photography is by Mrigank Sharma (India Sutra).
Here’s some more information from the designers:
BAYA PARK, Mumbai
The sales office for a project is in a sense is a theatrical staging area, informing customers about the brand and what it stands for. The spatial realm in such a case has less to do with the transactional nature of a sale and more with communication in three dimensions to successfully engage, delight and inform. As the only available construct for the customer to validate promise of quality, the space has to hold high standards in design and construction. With customer delight and thoughtful design as expressed mottos, ‘Baya Park’ as the first project of a young developer will be the proof of the concept. Our mandate amongst other things was to design the sales office and we suggested siting it within the building itself. The lobby with generous ceiling height, easy accessibility from outside and required floor area seemed a natural choice. For the developer, the finished interior space usable as the building lobby meant less sunk costs in a temporary installation.
Baya weaver birds make exquisitely complex nests and the brand name and identity borrow from iconographic imagery that is associated with the birds. Our key idea was to build a sculptural, dynamic, fluid form that evokes the Baya nest in an outscaled way. As a room on the floor plan, it serves the programmatic requirement of meeting space but transcends that by becoming an iconic object that reiterates the brand identity in a compelling fashion. The voluptuous form uses the advantage of a fairly empty floorplan and 15′ ceiling height to turn and twist in a way that makes it visually interesting from all around. Constructed out of plywood ribs and recycled pine wood strips repurposed from packing inside shipping containers, this construct allows for light to filter inside creating an interesting play and visual connect with outside.
A live green wall as the backdrop for the reception area reiterates the biophillic nature of the development, offering a small live patch as conversation starter for the larger park to come up within the building. The logo colours are rendered in backpainted glass as cladding and layered panelling in smoked walnut veneer complements the green, cladding large areas leading up to enclosed meeting room. Mid century modern pieces of furniture, solid surface acrylic reception desk, identity makers on building glass… all come together to complete the look. Clean, contemporary and yet mildly whimsical… much like the project and the developer.
The base of this table by Japanese designer Kazunaga Sakashita was inspired by trestles found in factories and on construction sites.
Japanese designer Kazunaga Sakashita updated the archetypal trestle table support to make it suitable for use in the home or office, reproducing it in curving tubular steel.
“The trestle in a factory or construction site is very functional, and there are various ways to use it,” said the designer. “Because the top board is only placed on the trestle, you can make it suitable for the space by changing the material and size of the top board,”
A horizontal bar supports the table surface at each end, supported by one angled leg in its centre and a second bar that extends down from one end, along the floor and back up.
A diagonal strut between the bar on the floor and the angled leg stabilises the structure.
The trestle legs are treated with a soft-touch urethane coating which is exposed to ultraviolet rays to give it a hard finish.
An oak top is pictured in combination with the trestles, but Sakashita suggested that the material and size of the surface could be specified by the user.
Trestle-type table that the design was based on
Sakashita is currently producing the trestles himself while seeking a manufacturer.
Because the top board is only place on the trestle, you can use it in a use suitable for the space by changing material and the size of the top board.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
