Commission Work : ARIYA Gallery
Behind the Magic
We knew it was a tall order even before accepting this beast of a challenge. To create a levitating ten-foot bench that could easily take on 750kg weight capacity (averaging ten people) with its voluptuous form — was no small feat.
Our design team was undoubtedly, tingled with excitement.
Designed by STOC Architects, Commissioned by ARIYA Gallery
Renders by STOC Architects, Commissioned by ARIYA Gallery
Once we got the elevation plans from STOC Architects, we got to work. Modeling it according to the drawings was the easy part.
The magic began when we had to come up with a construction plan. Not just any plan, but a plan that will meet all the functional requirements of a commercial space like ARIYA Gallery.
Engineering the Form
If anyone knows solid wood, it’s us. We toil, smell, caress, breathe it everyday. This means we firsthand understand the weight of the wood and how much capacity it could carry. How were we going to create a curvaceous wood form that was not only levitating but hold the capacity of ten people at any given moment, minimum?
On par with the importance of function and design, is sustainability. How could we craft this bespoke piece, with the lowest possible wood waste? Well, we are laying it all out here in the open, especially for the nerds like us out there. You’re welcome.
The Make
Standard protocol at the workshop, requires every build to have its corresponding mold. This was no different. We edited, iterated, revised again and again until we perfected our molds. Painstaking process, but a complete joy.
Once we were happy with the foundational form, we started mapping it out on our dry-kilned Rubber solid wood. In 16’96 Concepts fashion, we took it even a step further by powder-coating the solid steel rod supports, to make certain that any potential of rust over time is prevented.
“In a world that increasingly opts for ‘easy’ and ‘convenient’ there’s something nostalgically heroic about the spirit of renegades and the unconventional, a spirit that champions charting their own paths, to make their own way. That is what makes a commission work like this, so damn special.”
Beauty that matters.
Now, all that’s left to do is to head on over to ARIYA Gallery, and soak up the masterpieces by artists and painters who are changing the world.
