early sketch for the D*Table, 1987
In 1987 Zeev Aram, owner of Aram Design Ltd, London, approached young artist Maty Grunberg to participate in A.D. 23rd exhibition – to design a piece of furniture. Maty accepted the challenge.
As Maty said : when an artist is approached to design a piece of furniture, an interesting process starts since the artist's experience is different from that of a professional furniture designer.
To create this piece he set to himself two guidelines. First he decided to design a coffee table. When you say to an artist: your piece will do nicely on a coffee table – it's a terrible humiliating insult. So, for Maty, a coffee table represented the lowest grade furniture. He thought to turn it into something of a higher level.
At that time he was interested in the geometry of precise shapes. Usually a furniture is not an accurate object, and one has to take into account the relationship between the human body that moves and touches it. Maty visited London's libraries, looking for an unusual inspiration for an artist - a mathematical formula that will enable him to work within its limits. He then came upon a formula by the 19th-century mathematician, Henry Ernest Dudeney: the conversion of a perfect triangle into a square and vice versa. By dissecting the square into 4 distinct shapes, these shapes can be rearranged into the triangle.
Maty found his inspiration muse. In his words: the relationship between units and forms is of a great interest to me – to change one form into another – so that an object such as table does not stay in static condition. The transition from one shape into another generates infinite possibilities.
Maty went back to his studio, designed the coffee table and built a small model, according to Dudeney's formula. David, his 4 years old son, was playing Lego in the studio. Maty asked him – what colors shall I use for this table? With no hesitation David answered – red, blue, yellow and green. Maty was impressed with the child's determination, and took his advice.
Maty brought to Zeev Aram the idea and a small model. Zeev turned it into a functional object.
As Maty said : when an artist is approached to design a piece of furniture, an interesting process starts since the artist's experience is different from that of a professional furniture designer.
To create this piece he set to himself two guidelines. First he decided to design a coffee table. When you say to an artist: your piece will do nicely on a coffee table – it's a terrible humiliating insult. So, for Maty, a coffee table represented the lowest grade furniture. He thought to turn it into something of a higher level.
At that time he was interested in the geometry of precise shapes. Usually a furniture is not an accurate object, and one has to take into account the relationship between the human body that moves and touches it. Maty visited London's libraries, looking for an unusual inspiration for an artist - a mathematical formula that will enable him to work within its limits. He then came upon a formula by the 19th-century mathematician, Henry Ernest Dudeney: the conversion of a perfect triangle into a square and vice versa. By dissecting the square into 4 distinct shapes, these shapes can be rearranged into the triangle.
Maty found his inspiration muse. In his words: the relationship between units and forms is of a great interest to me – to change one form into another – so that an object such as table does not stay in static condition. The transition from one shape into another generates infinite possibilities.
Maty went back to his studio, designed the coffee table and built a small model, according to Dudeney's formula. David, his 4 years old son, was playing Lego in the studio. Maty asked him – what colors shall I use for this table? With no hesitation David answered – red, blue, yellow and green. Maty was impressed with the child's determination, and took his advice.
Maty brought to Zeev Aram the idea and a small model. Zeev turned it into a functional object.
Lord Snowden photographed Maty for Times magazine.
Years passed, David, the little child who played Lego in Maty's studio, became an architect. He never forgot Dudeney's formula. Together with his colleague, Daniel Woolfson, they established their studio under the title -
The D*Haus Company LTD Www.thedhaus.com.
They quote Ernest Dudeney – "A good puzzle should demand the exercise of our best wits and ingenuity, and although a knowledge of mathematics … and … of logic are often of great service in the solution of these things, yet it sometimes happens that a kind of natural cunning and sagacity is of considerable value". This concept alone is fascinating, and the possibilities are endless when applying the formula to the world of architecture and design.
The D*Haus Company LTD Www.thedhaus.com.
They quote Ernest Dudeney – "A good puzzle should demand the exercise of our best wits and ingenuity, and although a knowledge of mathematics … and … of logic are often of great service in the solution of these things, yet it sometimes happens that a kind of natural cunning and sagacity is of considerable value". This concept alone is fascinating, and the possibilities are endless when applying the formula to the world of architecture and design.
David & Daniel designed a house according to Dudeney's formula. A shape-shifting home by D*Haus Company
see a fascinating short video: Dynamic D*Haus: https://vimeo.com/56045402
see a fascinating short video: Dynamic D*Haus: https://vimeo.com/56045402
David and Daniel also revived the D*Table and created their own updated version.
below: Maty G. with the two young architects, Daniel (left) and David (right).
below: Maty G. with the two young architects, Daniel (left) and David (right).
see D*Table 3 short videos:
D*Table Mix video: https://vimeo.com/96892629
D*Table White: https://vimeo.com/96796905
D*Table Black: https://vimeo.com/96796904
D*Table Mix video: https://vimeo.com/96892629
D*Table White: https://vimeo.com/96796905
D*Table Black: https://vimeo.com/96796904
A few weeks ago we got an email from… Brazil. Mr. Junior Rozzo from Editora Moderna asked for more details about Maty's D*Table from 1987, as they want to include this piece in the didactic material Editora Moderna publish. It is a National Textbook Program that will be distributed by the Brazilian government in public schools.
So, you see, ideas have their own ways of travelling around the world, transforming into different shapes and media.
*. Aram Store, London's Best modern furniture store since 1964 - https://www.aram.co.uk/
*. Zeev Aram - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeev_Aram
*. Zeev Aram - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeev_Aram
Author
Naomi R. Azar - M. Grunberg Studio Manager, author of the book Notes of Love
