Vancouver, Canada
Inspired by the Twin Sister peaks of British Columbia, known as Lion’s Gate, Loewen Console by Peter M. Wenger and studiopmw is entirely structured by geometry, gravity, and a peaceful unity.
Options include a range of stone and wood selections and matched stone book-ends.
Loewen console table can fit many domestic and commercial settings, ranging in length from three to nearly twelve feet.
For its elegant and refined design, Loewen Console Table has recently won a 2024 Prize Designs for Modern Furniture + Lighting Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and Global Design News.
Books, sculptures, flower arrangements, and other artefacts find pride of place on Loewen Console.
It also has the music enthusiast in mind. It’s weight and stability make it the perfect support for a turntable.
Its lower shelf exactly fits LPs, and the hidden cable channel makes it possible to display high-end electronics without the unsightly presence of wires.
The structural integrity of Loewen Console is a matter of form, material, and gravity. The vertical stone pieces are asymmetrical pyramidal forms.
The wood planks are precisely cut to let in the stones to specified depths.
The weight of the wooden plank and rigidity of the stone create an extremely strong mechanical connection that resists movement in all directions.
It is customary to finish stone with various techniques such as flaming, leathering, and polishing, all of which result in relatively imprecise surface dimensions.
To achieve the geometric interlock, a different technique was required. Mill Rustication is a technique invented for this piece to achieve precision and regularity while creating a unique quality.
It involves controlling the step-over process of the stone cutting mill to precise and repeatable dimensions.
The tool marks, lightly sanded, create a textural corduroy that is both pleasantly tactile and reliably precise.
Every aspect of Loewen Console, including material, form, and manufacturing technique, is integral to its function and beauty.
The shape of the stone is both structurally functional and gestural, directing the eye outward with their slope, extending the horizontality of the piece.
The wood is as plain and direct as it can be, dimensioned to the precise requirements of structure and use.
Form does not follow function, nor the reverse. Form, function, and material are one unified expression.
Project: Loewen Console Table
Designers: studiopmw
Lead Designer: Peter M. Wenger
Manufacturer: Lock & Mortice
Photographers: Courtesy of Lock & Mortice
Renderings: Iryna Holovata, Paragon Render
