Projects
FURNITURE MAKERS
Project – Elliptical Dining Table and Seating
This was great fun. A slow growing project: the time between initial discussions and completion was around two years, over which period we developed and built two other large pieces for the same client. In the background, the table and bench project gradually mutated and was refined through various incarnations. As often happens when designing, it was a case of adding complications and embellishments, until a point is reached where the design can be pared back to a single, focused plan.
A mathematically correct ellipse differs from any more arbitrary oval shape in that it is defined by a fixed length between two moving points on an x and y axis. This length is half the difference between the longest and the shortest dimensions through the centre of the shape. The changing curve of the ellipse is plotted by a third point, which is a projection through the first two points, at a fixed distance from them. What this amounts to, less mathematically, is a piece of stick with two nails hammered through it and a pen on the end. Because of the logic behind it, however, the correct ellipse seems, like the Golden Ratio or a perfect circle, to have an inherently satisfying aesthetic integrity about it.
In the design of this project, the principal form of the table and surrounding bench is based around the same perfect ellipse, growing outward like ripples from the centre of the table top. The decoration to the top, inset in black walnut, is a reflection of the same shape. We also made three accompanying chairs to complete the seating in the open section of the ellipse. These we based upon circular geometry, again with the shape of the back being defined by its relationship to the round of the seat pad.
Whilst it is always possible to be too dogmatic in following a particular design theory or pet formula, this project has proved to be both mathematically and functionally ideal. As well as being great fun.
Elliptical Dining Table and Seating Project Gallery
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