Hasta La Ideas

Photos by Robert Lowell

We first discovered Akke Functional Art at the ICFF this year—how could we pass on a steampunk ping-pong table?—and designer Axel Yberg has all but outdone himself with his latest project. The “All In” poker table refers both to the game itself and Yberg’s recognition that building the Akke brand “has been a team effort and everyone involved has given it their all.” “On a personal level, it symbolizes the fact that when I commit to something, I give it everything I’ve got; mentally, physically, and emotionally. When I’m excited about an idea, the first thing I say is, ‘I’m all in!'”

Over 600 man-hours of labor went into the arboreal tabletop, which features fifteen species of exotic wood: Madagascar Ebony, Rosewood, Purple Heart, Zebra Wood, Wormy Maple, English Brown Oak, Black Locust, Claro Walnut, Quilted Maple, Sycamore, Cherry, Catalpa, Black Walnut, Quarter-Sawn White Oak, and live-edge Ash. And while the ligneous lines that comprise the striking web pattern of the surface are purely aesthetic, the rest of the table is chock full of symbolism:

The vectors that bisect each angle on the perimeter of the table are made from Madagascar Ebony and Rosewood. Their colors, black and red, represent the suits in a deck of cards. This idea is carried into the turnbuckle drink holders, which are designed as a quadrant of Black Walnut and Cherry. The organic nature of the live-edge Ash on the perimeter of the table symbolizes the fact that the game of poker requires complex thinking, as opposed to a systematic game like Black Jack. To be a successful poker player, you must have plenty of skill, nerves of steel, and a good amount of luck. The steel horseshoes that surround the WPT logos symbolize that combination.

The center of the table features a five diamond pattern—”a nod to the legendary Doyle Brunson and the [World Poker Tour] Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic”—that is backlit by Edison reproduction bulbs, set in Akke’s signature pipe fittings, while the gold-painted base is an ostentatious allusion to the “bling associated with Las Vegas.”

The final product comes in at 81” × 52” × 31.5” and, by Yberg’s best guess, roughly 300 lbs—hit the jump to see the making-of video…

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Seasoned logophiles ought to know the answer to the common crossword clue, “Golfer Ernie,” without thinking twice, but here’s a hint for everyone else: it’s three letters long, and sounds like the 12th letter of the alphabet.

Of course, it’s more likely that Slovenian architecture student Luka Locicnik was inspired by his own initials than the South African PGA fixture. Whatever the case, the LLSTOL is a remarkably versatile pair of identical, interlocking letterforms that can be arranged to make a chair, a table, a shelf, or any number of seating and storage surfaces. While “its basic use is as a lounge chair, it can be transformed into other furniture types very easily and without complex details or metal components, [ideal for] students and young families with small apartments.”

Regarding the material, the website notes:

Laminated molded plywood is an excellent material for designing furniture as it is sustainable and has strong compressive and tensile characteristics. We want to use only natural and sustainable materials with as little environmental impact as possible. Slovenia is one of few countries with very high percentage of forests—over 60% of land is forest. For the LLSTOL we are using quality beech wood which is also the most common type of wood in the country, so LLSTOL is made entirely of wood and finished with quality matte lacquer.

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Berlin-based design duo Neulant van Exel have the broad portfolio you might expect from a collaboration between an architect and sculptor, and their latest project, “Floppy Table,” is a surefire hit.

Although Jeff Skierka opted for CNC-milled plywood for his “Mixtape Table,” Neulant van Exel’s throwback-media-inspired-furniture is a rather more industrial affair, comprised of hot-rolled steel and stainless steel. They’ve also cleverly reimagined the iconic metal shutter as a secret compartment (GIF after the jump)…

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I’m totally digging these solid wood stools that look like they were made by elves with a 5-axis CNC mill. Designed by Karim Rashid for Italian manufacturer Riva 1920, the Fiore (first pictured) and Delta (second) are solid chunks of cedar. And the beauty of them, of course, is that while each are carved up according to that particular model’s CAD file, no two will ever be alike.

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This is easily one of my favorite shots from Salone 2012…

At over six months out, we’re closer to the next Salone than the last one, but seeing as many of the projects we saw in April are worthy of closer examination, we were glad to see the “Sgabellissimo” stool turn up in the inbox last month. We got a first glimpse of the unorthodox two-legged stool (the pictures say it all) in Ventura Lambrate, where architect Claudio Larcher had co-curated the University of Bolzano’s excellent group exhibition “Vertigini.” (In addition to his faculty position at the University, Larcher is a principal of Milan’s Modoloco architecture & design studio, which is producing “Sgabellissimo.”)

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the stool can be inverted as a cartoonishly short ladder, like something out of, say, Super Mario Bros.

Incidentally, “Sgabellissimo” echoes the concept of another stool, submitted by designer Moritz Marder, which similarly requires balance… though it has a radically different form factor.

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