Cloth Table – A Swiss pearl for the world

The Cloth Table combines state of art technologies and functionality to create an exclusive object suitable for any space. Cloth table is a collaboration between the design firm Hybreed and Swisspearl.

Its design represents an innovative approach to furniture design introducing digital manufacturing techniques in combination with conventional crafts. The furniture is made of natural fiber concrete, the form combined with the technique of fabrication give at the same time a sense of lightness and rigidity.

The design comes from a research on material, performances simulation and robotic fabrication. The main purpose was to achieve a design shaped by gravity and natural forces using physics engines. Those simulations, combined with prototyping and materials research, led to a sculptural design. The process of fabrication and especially the experimental approach was one of the key features of the project, enhancing the innate value of the material. The computational approach follows and highlights the qualities of the material regarding aesthetics and structural properties allowing the creation of a unique table. The complex double curved shape for the moulds have been 3dprinted in sand to have the maximum precision achievable. The project has been engineered by hybreed and 3dprinted by Voxeljet in Germany.

Materials have been the starting point of the research since the early phases. Concrete canvas has been used for testing material properties akin to concrete but easier to shape in an unconventional way. The further developments of the project led to fiber reinforced concrete as a more affordable and resistant material with better mechanical performances and finishing qualities. The fabrication process was part of the design and has been taken into account since the early design stages. The final design was the result of several tests and prototypes and a long research on the material performances.