Japanese architect Junya Ishigami was able to stress the potential of architectural thinking at every scale, since its very first solo project, an (extraordinary) piece of furniture. In 2006, he demonstrated that the design of an object like a table can be as complex and challenging as that of a building and that the process needs at least the same amount of rigor and detailing. As stated by Jeff Kaplon, editor of Subtilitas: “the complexities of structural forces and creation of spatial relationships is achieved at the scale of household objects“. An overly rational thinking process reverses into the creation of an almost irrational product.
The large table (9,5m x 2,6m), located in a gallery space and covered with food, plants and tableware, is so thin (3mm) that it has been nicknamed the “magic table“.
The object is fabricated as a single pre-stressed steel (or aluminium, as stated elsewhere? nda) sheet. It is then bent and curled in the form of a pig’s tail (see photo). To achieve flatness, the table is exposed to the applied and calculated loads of many objects in precise locations over its surface, in order to ensure structural stability.
The immateriality of the object is enhanced by the gentle ripples that the surface produces when touched.