A harmonious blend of functional furniture and a sculptural experience.
A piece of furniture, beyond its design and materials, always derives its meaning largely from its use – from the function for which it was created.
A sculpture, beyond its style and materials, arises from the artist’s need to express an idea or an emotion.
By integrating both concepts, we have created our ‘Tribute to George Nakashima’ bench. A unique and majestic piece, 2.5 metres long, entirely handcrafted from a combination of Pyrenean walnut and stainless steel.
Our inspiration: George Nakashima
George Nakashima (1905–1990) regarded wood as a living, breathing element. His guiding principle was that every piece of wood has a single ideal purpose, and it is the mastery of the craftsman to discover the creation that allows it to realise its full potential.
Kodama, the spirit of the tree in Japanese, invites us to connect with the essence of each tree in an intimate way. And it is this commitment to working from our deepest respect for the tree that then allows us to give it a second life.
The origin:
The imposing piece of Pyrenean walnut used to craft the Tribute to George Nakashima bench was part of a very special batch we purchased a few years ago. When we saw it, we fell in love with it. At that very moment, we decided we had to create a piece that would allow its beauty and majesty to shine through, paying tribute to the life of the tree from which it came.
A few years later, we discovered Nakashima’s work, and that’s where the basic idea emerged (a philosophy or statement of intent, rather than a specific design).
After making the trolley for the Jardin de Sens restaurant in Montpellier (France), and the sommelier’s table for the Lluerna restaurant in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Catalonia, Spain), that idea became clearer: to create a ‘forest bench’, with delicate stainless-steel trees serving as legs, so that they would gently lift the imposing wood and invite us to sit amongst the treetops, almost amongst the clouds.
How we did it:
We began by sanding the wood, whilst preserving its original shape, and discovered that the grain was even more spectacular than it had first appeared. However, the hectic pace of work on our serial pieces meant we couldn’t devote the care and attention this piece required, so the wood sat in our warehouse, waiting for the right moment, for over two years. Whilst in the warehouse, the wood warped ever so slightly, but far from being a problem, this gave the piece a more ethereal quality.
We sanded the wood using several different grades of sandpaper, each progressively finer, until we achieved an ‘ultra-smooth’ feel, making it extremely pleasant to the touch. We filled any holes it had with clear resin, with ease of maintenance in mind. And, with a view to both highlighting the wood’s natural beauty and ensuring it is comfortable to use, we protected the wood with a colourless, two-component natural oil, polished by hand.
The small stainless steel trees are made up of small pieces of stainless steel tubing and rod, with diameters that become progressively smaller the further away from the ground they are. Each piece is cut, polished and welded into the structure. These welds are then reinforced and the various parts of the emerging stainless steel tree are polished so that, whilst at first they merely look like pieces of metal welded together, they begin to resemble an autumnal tree more and more. It is a meticulous and detailed process, in which the branches are created in mid-air, from nothing, until the shape we have in mind is achieved. The stainless steel is also polished several times, using discs of different grits, until we achieve the exact finish we want.
The backrest of the bench is also a tribute to—and interpretation of—George Nakashima’s style, occupying only part of the bench’s 2.5-metre length (to give the wood more ‘breathing space’) and possessing a very minimalist, yet organic, feel: three delicate stainless steel branches support a line one and a half metres long, as if it were a sketch.
At this stage, the unconditional support of Fronius is vital. Thanks to their equipment and advice, we are able to make the metal behave exactly as we wish.
We have determined all the bench’s dimensions and angles with the ergonomics of the seating in mind.
The result: We have created a sculptural piece that can be used as a bench.
A collector’s item, designed to last, to be passed down from generation to generation.
We have paid tribute to George Nakashima’s work without copying it, but by reinterpreting it, bringing our own sculptural vision and our passion for combining materials. And we have succeeded in giving a new lease of life to that part of the tree which, having reached the end of its natural life, lives on in our bench.
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