norwegian wood table
Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s novel “Norwegian Wood”, this table was designed and fabricated as part 2 of a 2-part design problem.
The design problem (written for my “Architecture & Furniture” students) looked at the possibility of designing and fabricating a piece of furniture or functional object for a fictional architectural space described in a work of fiction.
An assignment like the one I'd written requires at least two readings of a novel. A first read gives an overall impression and feeling of the fictional world created by the the author. A second read allows for time and attention to go towards finding the perfect quote, in this particular case, a quote capable of inspiring a piece of furniture.
"...We cleared the table and sat on the floor, listening to music and drinking the rest of the wine…I put on a record and when it ended I lifted the needle and put on another one. After the last record I went back to the first. She had only six all together. The cycle started with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and ended with Bill Evan’s Waltz for Debbie. Rain fell past the window. Time moved slowly. Naoko went on talking by herself.” pg. 38
The design problem (written for my “Architecture & Furniture” students) looked at the possibility of designing and fabricating a piece of furniture or functional object for a fictional architectural space described in a work of fiction.
An assignment like the one I'd written requires at least two readings of a novel. A first read gives an overall impression and feeling of the fictional world created by the the author. A second read allows for time and attention to go towards finding the perfect quote, in this particular case, a quote capable of inspiring a piece of furniture.
"...We cleared the table and sat on the floor, listening to music and drinking the rest of the wine…I put on a record and when it ended I lifted the needle and put on another one. After the last record I went back to the first. She had only six all together. The cycle started with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and ended with Bill Evan’s Waltz for Debbie. Rain fell past the window. Time moved slowly. Naoko went on talking by herself.” pg. 38
Haruki Murakami’s novel is named after the Beatle’s song Norwegian Wood which was included on the Beatle’s Rubber Soul album.
When asked about the lyrics to Norwegian Wood, John Lennon & Paul McCartney seem to have different memories.
“As McCartney later explained, it was popular for Swinging London girls to decorate their homes with Norwegian pine. ‘So it was a little parody really on those kinds of girls who when you'd go to their flat there would be a lot of Norwegian wood,’ he told biographer Barry Miles. ‘It was pine really, cheap pine. But it's not as good a title, Cheap Pine, baby.’”
"Norwegian Wood is my song completely. It was about an affair I was having. I was very careful and paranoid because I didn't want my wife, Cyn, to know that there really was something going on outside of the household. I'd always had some kind of affairs going, so I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair, but in such a smoke-screen way that you couldn't tell. But I can't remember any specific woman it had to do with." John Lennon, All We Are Saying, David Sheff
I liked the idea that a design could have multiple meanings and multiple inspirations. In this instance, I could be inspired by the novel Norwegian Wood, I could be inspired by the song that inspired the novel, I could be inspired by the materials I'd chosen to use, and of course I could be inspired by an entire history of table design. Specifically, I could be inspired by the work of a Japanese American furniture maker by the name of George Nakashima. George Nakashima was of particular interest since he was an American trained architect simultaneously inspired by his Japanese heritage and the materials of the world around him, i.e. wood. Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer inspired by American and British popular culture and the people and places of the world around him.
"Norwegian Wood is my song completely. It was about an affair I was having. I was very careful and paranoid because I didn't want my wife, Cyn, to know that there really was something going on outside of the household. I'd always had some kind of affairs going, so I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair, but in such a smoke-screen way that you couldn't tell. But I can't remember any specific woman it had to do with." John Lennon, All We Are Saying, David Sheff
I liked the idea that a design could have multiple meanings and multiple inspirations. In this instance, I could be inspired by the novel Norwegian Wood, I could be inspired by the song that inspired the novel, I could be inspired by the materials I'd chosen to use, and of course I could be inspired by an entire history of table design. Specifically, I could be inspired by the work of a Japanese American furniture maker by the name of George Nakashima. George Nakashima was of particular interest since he was an American trained architect simultaneously inspired by his Japanese heritage and the materials of the world around him, i.e. wood. Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer inspired by American and British popular culture and the people and places of the world around him.
Walnut & Norwegian maple harvested from the Chicagoland area's urban forest are used as the tables primary materials. Additional materials include: aluminum, polished stainless steel bolts & washers.
The table is intended for use in the novel’s mountain asylum cottage where Toru, Naoko & Reiku sit, talk, drink and play music. The combination of metal and wood is an intentional pairing of the wood’s warmth with cool metals. This combination is in response to the alternating coolness and warmth of the novel's characters. Functionally the thin bars of aluminum are intended to lift or float the heavy live edge slab above the ground to simultaneously describe a table that is both heavy and light in a manner that picks up on the novel’s tone which is at times heavy and at other time light.
The table is intended for use in the novel’s mountain asylum cottage where Toru, Naoko & Reiku sit, talk, drink and play music. The combination of metal and wood is an intentional pairing of the wood’s warmth with cool metals. This combination is in response to the alternating coolness and warmth of the novel's characters. Functionally the thin bars of aluminum are intended to lift or float the heavy live edge slab above the ground to simultaneously describe a table that is both heavy and light in a manner that picks up on the novel’s tone which is at times heavy and at other time light.
Subsequent to my design & fabrication work, the novel Norwegian Wood was made into a movie and of course the table I imagined and fabricated was not the table used in the movie.
