Claro Walnut live edge slab, Cocobolo details. Intersecting steel w-beam legs. Oil blackened finish.
This slab of wood is massive, and thick, dense and solid. It conveys permanence. The grain shows age and tumult, but more than that shows wisdom. The creases around a mother’s eye, the rough hands of a grandfather; aged yes, but ultimately imbued with love. To dine upon this slab is share in ritual and celebration, the tree envelops the guests in a silent embrace. The tree will be cleaned, and finished to expose its wonderful grain, but with reverence, not with a showy, high gloss, but with a humble satin varnish; protection from the inevitabilities of dining, but respect for the wood.
To balance the mighty slab, a pedestal will be constructed that equals the tree’s visual weight. Powerful steel I-Beams will be made to collide, pass through each other, ultimately to support the table top. By bringing the legs to the center of the table top, the visual size of the table will be somewhat reduced. The table will show both lightness and robustness. The heavy slab seems to float over the legs, the strong beams intersect effortlessly.
Concept design. Four steel beams "crashing" together under a slab of walnut.
