Michigan Mappa Burl Shelves

Salk Insitute/Julius Shulman

I learned of the beauty of drainage by a bricklayer at a site visit. While I was fantasizing about the concepts, materials, and proportions, he asked, “and how does it drain?”. This seemingly minuscule detail can make or break a project, and in the case of Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute, it is the trardemark of the project.

A collection of cast bronze vessels by artist Jonathan Cross without matching saucers led me to design a set of Mappa Burl shelves that celebrated a drainage system. Utilizing a system of wicks and brass channels milled at calculated angles, the system drains the overflow from each watering into a collection of polished brass vessels by Alma Allen.

Santa Monica Studio by Jack Strutz

Industry Conference Table

When my client commissioned this piece, I was deeply consumed by the Japanese tea ceremony. I found the humble beginnings of the tea ceremony even more enchanting than my own experiences. A brief summary - temporary natural structures, raw imperfect vessels, a lack of ornament, and the imperial court codifying the ceremony for their aesthetic enjoyment.

I saw the process of doing business a ritual and the participants part of the ceremony gathered around and interacting with the conference table. So much more than a flat surface with data and power outlets, the Industry Table features a floating “tea tray” in patinated brass with each element of the business deal on display in customized trays.

The base features interlocking brass and Walnut legs which support a bookmatched 16 foot California Walnut top.

Communal Desk

Harvest Table II

Constellation