Coffee temple table

My major work at Sturt School for Wood 2023 was a gift for my father, who encouraged and supported my career change.  A retired architect who now loves to drink coffee on his balcony, Dad greatly admires Tadao Ando, whose Komyo-Ji temple is the inspiration for this table. In designing a place in which people can meet, Ando observed the traditional carpentry process of assembly of individual components.  

With similar intention, the sticks of this table are cut from a single hinoki post, stacked and joined with wooden nails. The inset concrete top is a cheeky nod to both designers, who love their works in concrete.  Although the predominantly top-down perspective differs from the original, I hope it still provides the same meeting place for visitors, or for moments of quiet reflection. 

Hinoki (Japanese cypress) & hardware imported by Japanese Tools Australia. 

Photography by @danielmulheran.