Wish List | Table Turned

This large round laminated dining table fulfilled the ‘wish’ of Alex de Rijke as part of AHEC’s Wish List project. Made from American tulipwood, the table is actually incredibly light despite its solid appearance. Its shape encourages conversation and ‘democracy’ between adults and children through dinner, homework and decision-making! 

The Vision

Alex de Rijke commissioned Barnby & Day to create a beautiful, large, round, laminated dining table. Alex is known for pioneering innovative uses of timber within the construction industry and designed the first ever use of hardwood CLT, ‘Endless Stair’ for the London Design Festival 2013. In an article entitled, ‘Timber is the new concrete’, he predicted that timber would be the dominant construction material of the 21st Century. Applying this thinking to furniture design, Barnby & Day laminated American tulipwood and turned a hollow round table for Alex de Rijke who wanted the table to look very solid but in fact be very light.

Alex de Rijke wanted a large, circular laminated tulipwood dining table. ‘We know everything takes place at the table,’ he said. ‘The best decisions are made, homework is done and computers are used.’ A round table is, he said, more democratic. 'It means that children have as much say as adults.' 

Furthermore he wanted to work with tulipwood again because he liked the fact that it is strong and light and abundant. And he likes the way it looks, ‘the liveliness of the grain because it has grown in different microclimates’. The idea of a table that looked solid but was actually hollow also appealed.

Design Process

The table was designed to be built up from 13 rings of three CLT layers (in CLT the grain runs in opposing directions on each layer making it more stable). The top is a CLT disc, two metres in diameter. One of Barnby & Day’s suggestions was to create a hollow in the centre of the table which could serve either as a fruit bowl or, with a spun copper insert, as an ice bucket for wine. This served two purposes – it used otherwise ‘dead’ space, and it enhanced the sense of solidity – in fact the hollow is carved down into some additional CLT layers.

The other design considerations were to do with comfort and safety. The designers refined the curve of the pedestal, using a full-size cut-out to ensure that it could accommodate Alex de Rijke’s long legs – nobody else should have any problems. The other refinements were to do with the making. The table would be built up from the rings and then turned. It was the largest object ever turned at Benchmark and the specialist turner brought in, Mike Bradley, had to be certain it would be safe. The rings were made wider than originally considered to ensure there was no danger of it pulling apart. 

The Outcome

A beautiful large round laminated dining table. Although the table looks solid, it is actually extremely light. Its delicately sculpted shape incorporating the pedestal was the largest object ever turned at Benchmark.

Environmental Profile

Unsurprisingly, the mass of American tulipwood used to construct the Barnby and Day table dominates the environmental impact, both positively and negatively. On the one hand the energy generated from wood waste during manufacturing and at End of Life offsets most of the carbon emissions. The product is highly durable and therefore has potential to act as a carbon store for decades. The fact that tulipwood is a quick drying hardwood species requiring no more than 7 to 10 days in the kiln, also helped to reduce environmental impact. On the other hand, the relatively large volume of tulipwood used in the table contributed to more significant acidification and eutrophication impacts during transport. It also contributed to relatively high photo-chemical ozone creation potential (POCP). Partially mitigating these impacts is the potential for the table to remain in use for many years, minimising the need for replacement.

Source: American Hardwood Export Council