Page 64 - Australian Wood Review №103 2019
P. 64
DESIGN
The I-Beam Bench was designed to fill
the brief from Tasmanian Museum
and Art Gallery’s need for public seating.
They asked for a piece that drew on
the industrial history of the old Bond
Store building. The shape references
the ubiquitous steel I-beams, but this
one is made from eucalypt.
I wanted to highlight the beauty
of industrial engineering forms,
elevate Tasmanian oak from a
structural timber very rarely used in
fine furniture and at the same time
provide robust seating which could
withstand the wear and tear of high
volume use.
To emphasise the shape, I painted
the endgrain with a bright blue
signwriters paint which is the colour
of the graffiti painted on the walls
from the early 1800s. There were
about 50 benches in total for that
job as well as another version for the
other museum buildings.
The bar tables and benches I designed
for MONA are another design that
went on to have a life beyond the
original commission, in domestic
and residential as well as corporate
settings such as the courtyard at
Design Tasmania.
3. Rinse and repeat
Repetition. Repetition is practice,
practice makes (closer to) perfect.
You make money on the repeats
and that repays you for the original
investments into your research and
development, but more importantly,
repetition is where you adjust
and refine.
While we don’t do production pieces
per se, our pieces do evolve over
time as we repeat designs and adjust
forms to suit different client needs.
Each time we make a version, our
fabrication process improves.
Top: The Cheese Trolley for The Source restaurant at MONA
had a detailed brief as the cheese has to be kept moist but not
damp. It had to have just the right amount of ventilation, have The first Frank’s Table was small and
a waterproof drip tray to collect condensation, drawers for
cutlery and plates as well as full extension cutting boards. Food made for a tiny converted barn in
grade functionality was essential and aesthetics no less so. Hobart and used one of the original
Photo by Rosie Hastie
beams as the top. We’ve made
Above: Rinse and repeat: Repetition is practice and practice numerous versions of this table, and
makes (closer to) perfect.’
64 Australian Wood Review
