Irwin Table
The “Irwin Table”: Fisher Architecture designed this piece for the deck of Steve and Andi Irwin’s Squirrel Hill home. Craftsman Vince Gillen crafted the cherry tabletop you see here from three long boards he milled from fallen trees found in the woods behind his Hanover Township home.
Our design goal was to bring together the traditional craftsmanship of 50’s Modern furniture makers like George Nakashima with the contemporary language of European and Asian-inspired Modernism. As we studied other contemporary versions of Nakashima’s wood table tops, we felt that designers were not serving the tops well when they supported them with heavy timber frame bases.
Our opinion is that designers can best show off the heaviness and material qualities of wood table tops like those of Nakashima by making their support pieces as light as possible. In addition we employed color and material palettes for the support pieces that contrasted as much as possible with the tabletop above. In this way we are showing respect for the tabletop by letting it be itself. The Irwin Table is a version of our “Old Meets New” building strategy: Just as old and new buildings can coexist as happy neighbors, so can traditional and modern furniture elements.
For more furniture designed by Fisher ARCHitecture, check out the Nakabini Table and the Radiant Heated Glass Chair.
The “Irwin Table”: Fisher Architecture designed this piece for the deck of Steve and Andi Irwin’s Squirrel Hill home. Craftsman Vince Gillen crafted the cherry tabletop you see here from three long boards he milled from fallen trees found in the woods behind his Hanover Township home.
Our design goal was to bring together the traditional craftsmanship of 50’s Modern furniture makers like George Nakashima with the contemporary language of European and Asian-inspired Modernism. As we studied other contemporary versions of Nakashima’s wood table tops, we felt that designers were not serving the tops well when they supported them with heavy timber frame bases.
Our opinion is that designers can best show off the heaviness and material qualities of wood table tops like those of Nakashima by making their support pieces as light as possible. In addition we employed color and material palettes for the support pieces that contrasted as much as possible with the tabletop above. In this way we are showing respect for the tabletop by letting it be itself. The Irwin Table is a version of our “Old Meets New” building strategy: Just as old and new buildings can coexist as happy neighbors, so can traditional and modern furniture elements.
For more furniture designed by Fisher ARCHitecture, check out the Nakabini Table and the Radiant Heated Glass Chair.
