Meandering Furniture for a Valletta townhouse
Sculptor and exhibition designer Tom Van Malderen recently completed the design and creation of a set of sinuous furniture titled Liwi, turning an often stern and straight-lined set of furniture into a more playful and relaxed environment.
Instead of the traditional dining table with a formal ‘head’, Van Malderen designed the family table to be more dynamic in its use, and to make the most of the townhouse’s stunning Valletta and harbour views. The meandering surface allows for more versatile daily use by turning segments into a home studio, a reading area, and an intimate meeting and eating corner. Together with a set of mobile one- and two-seater benches, the stage is set for a flexible environment, where shifting interactions and changing micro social events unfold whether the client is on her own, engaging in an intimate meeting, or entertaining a large crowd.
A forest of thin steel legs and flanges retains the table-top’s playfulness and lightness, leaving ample under-table space and providing twelve clear seating pockets for legs and knees. The shelving structure is also broken up to achieve a balance between structural stability, usability and sculptural qualities. As a tiny uniting detail, edged profiles along the seating and shelving provide additional strength to the shelves and help moving of the benches around. With minimal ingredients, Liwi tells multiple stories, reaches out in space, and maximises its users’ experiences.
www.tomvanmalderen.com
