Bridge Forms

Click to view bridge forms portfolio

 

The bridgeform table series started as a design exercise to build a table using some beautifully figured maple pieces left over from a bookshelf project. They were long and narrow, which made me feel that a design similar to a bridge would be the most dramatic way to showcase the wood top and emphasize its elongated shape. This was another project where the top piece drove the rest of the design. I was actually designing the next piece before I finished the first one, using the same overall dimensions, the same shape and materials for the top, and the same use of black Environ for the base panels. Since then, I have built all of the bridgeform tables within the same dimensional box, except for a few shorter pieces. The tops have been made up of the same materials (maple or birch panels with mahogany edge banding) and the same edge profile. The base designs have varied considerably, but still keep a bridge-like look. Like the real thing, the structure itself provides visual drama as a direct relationship to its function. By maintaining the dimensional restrictions, I have found the design process to be innovative: working within certain limits forces me to focus in a way that open-ended parameters usually do not.