EPÒNIMO: Rock table
Texto por Eponimo
Milano, Italia
12.11.14
In the Epònimo collection the piece that has caught most of the public’s attention is the Rock table. Marble is a precious material, classical and yet timeless, well suited for the development of modern objects while mantaining a quality of familiarity that is strongly perceived and shared by most of the public. The combination of innovation and familiarity is the foundaion of Epònimo’s design philosophy and it is only natural that the company would choose marble as one of the characterizing materials of its furniture collection.
The Rock table was born out of the desire to create a marble piece that could exalt the aesthetic qualities of the material through the use of large surfaces that in turn would put in evidence the veins and the individual characteristics of each individual plate. The extremely essential design and the simplicity of the lines enhance the modern character and aesthetic versatility of the table while focusing the attention of the viewer on the quality of the material.
Because of the high cost of marble it was extremely important to eliminate all of the additional costs not directly tied to the purchase and processing of the material such as the use of metal parts, support structures or other assembly hardware and the consequent need for multiple vendors, competeneces and transportation. To achieve this we decidede to develop a single-material piece that could be made using only marble by a single vendor without the need for other materials or competences.
The table is composed of 5 elements (4 portals and a top) glued together without the support of metal structures, screws or other hardware. A simple trick in the design of the table, allows the gluing to be solid and safe: the top and the portals meet each other at a 45 degree angle through surfaces that greatly increase the gluing area and the strength of the assembly. The four lateral elements, once they are joined to the top, become structural. The edges o each element are radiused and when they meet they create a sculptural detail that runs along each plane and makes the table look as if it was carved out of a solid block of marble.
This detail is the most important aesthetic sign of the table: it gives it an extremely strong and recognizable character despite the essential simplicity of the forms. We also introduced a new finish: matte and irreguarly three-dimensional it looks as if it weathered in time and it enhances the natural character of marble by making the veins and imperfections of the surface stand out.
All the elements of the table are obtained from a single marble plate and the first step of production is the finishing of the surface. Then, to optimize the use of material and the positioning of veins and color variations, the plate is analysed through a dedicated software on a computer screen by overlapping the contour of the parts that will be cut to a photographic top view of the plate itself. Following the tracking generated on the computer the separate elements are cut with a water jet.
The next steps are the polishing of the cuts, gluing, assembly, cleaning and the application of a protective agent. Because of the clever project solution a few manufacturing steps are sufficient to achieve an extremely precious, unique and surprising result.
Because there are no metal elements the table is outdoor safe. In Epònimo’s catalog Rock is offered in various sizes but it can also be made to customer specs with hardly any increase in price.
Standard materials are white Carrara and black New Saint Laurent marbles but other stones are available upon request. Rock was designed for Epònimo by Alberto Colzani in 2013.