Steel U Bar Table by Joey van Beek is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Competition Category.
IronFine Art· 2022
Steel U Bar Table
Client: Industrial Office
A' Design Award Winner in Fine Art Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #137000The Design
About Steel U Bar Table
Steel U, a design that was based on the past, created in the present and is made with the intension to inspire the future. This resulted in a combination of an reused steel tabletop that is supported by concrete legs which were destroyed by physical emotions. This way the design becomes literally a part of the person who the destroys concrete. The combination gave physical and mental challenges during the process, but eventually resulted in a design that gave fulfillment.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Steel U Bar Table is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Steel U Bar Table is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Steel U Bar Table is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
I wanted a design that was based on the passed, created in the present but with the intension to inspire the future. When I was thinking about this kind on an design, one of things that came up to me, was the word emotion. And to be able to create in real life, you need to become physically involved. By combining these two words, I came up with the idea to create the demolition legs by using the clients physical emotion. This way the design truly becomes a part of the client.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
I wanted the concrete legs to look as if there were taken out from a demolition, but at the same time, when the client looks at the design, it reminds the client of the emotion that was used to create it.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
People have ask me if I would sell it. But that is an easy answer, no. Not just because the design marks the start of an lifechanging journey, but also because I am now able to show the concept in real life to my clients.
Grand Interview
Your innovative approach to combining demolition and emotion in the Steel U Bar Table challenges traditional furniture design - could you elaborate on how this concept evolved from initial inspiration to final realization?
By start thinking with the end in mind during the process, the direction was clear. By making the journey towards the end goal personal, every step was enjoyed. The concept of creating by destruction could be felt in the process, which made it a joy to execute.
The Steel U Bar Table's unique feature of incorporating the owner's physical emotions through concrete destruction is fascinating - what inspired you to create this deeply personal connection between user and furniture?
I personally experience a growing lack of personality in the things around me. This can be from how people perform but also that the content is no longer relevant, as long as it shiny and gives people the impression that it is impressive at first glance it is okay. I don’t like that at all. I want meaning full connections with people and my designs.
The integration of industrial heritage through the reused 70mm S355 steel tabletop in the Steel U Bar Table speaks to sustainable design - how did you balance preserving the material's weathered character while ensuring structural integrity?
The materials I selected will not lose structural strength during their process of gaining natural colors. Also the dimensions a so large that they can withstand the test of time.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Steel U, is a combination of reusing emotion and scrap metal. The tabletop is made from 70mm solid reused steel which is supported by two concrete blocks. These are connected by reinforcement steel which is made into shape by forging. The shape of the block is made by the person who owns the table. The way this is done; is by pouring first a smooth concrete block in a mold, which then will destroyed by the owner with a sledgehammer and jack hammer.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 3220mm x Depth 650mm x Height 1120mm. Weight 988kg. Tabletop is S355 steel displayed under 10mm hardened glass. Legs are regular concrete with an inner steel shell to create an air chamber for reducing weight. Connection rods are reinforcement steel.
- Tags
- Steel U, Thoughts, Emotion, Steel, Concrete, Forged, Industrial Office
- Production Technology
- The tabletop is made from 70mm S355 steel which was used for producing machine parts. The shapes are made by the oxygen cutting process and when no more parts could come from the plate, it became scrap metal. This was outside, which gave after 2 years in the rain and sun the current look. The reinforcement steel rods where then first forged in an arch and then welded to the tabletop. After making a steel mold, the reinforcement steel was place in the mold and then covered in regular concrete.
- Design Challenge
- The hardest part was to make the concrete legs, which had to look like demolition but had to show the emotion of the owner. So I called help from my best friend, who is my father, because he had built his own house. I explained the look and strength that I wanted to have and he knew right away what was needed and how to execute. This way he thought and showed me what I needed to know so I could make the second leg myself with him as my mentor by my side checking.
- Research
- The first research I did, was to check if I could find on the internet a furniture design that ,was or looked like it, came from a demolition. After not finding it, I started with the question on how to make the process an experience. My mind went from concrete, to create, to sculpting, to sculpture, to how to sculpt, to thoughts, to experiencing and then to emotion. This resulted in the method of the owner using emotions physically to destroying the legs first to then create.
- Inspiration
- At the company which I have with my father to build conveyors, I wanted to create an office that was not about functionality, but about productivity. Inspired by my love for industrial designs I noticed the tabletop between the scrap metal, and wanted to use it because that is what you see when standing behind it. The legs got inspiration from demolition. But I wanted to put literally my emotions in to the concrete base, so I came up with the concept of pouring it first and then destroying it.
- Project Duration
- The idea started on July 2020 in Ede, The Netherlands at my home. But because the tabletop did not yet have the right appearance I needed to wait. When it did have the appearance, it was January 2022. The legs were then made and finished on 13 February 2022 in Ede, The Netherlands at my workshop.
- Operation Flow
- The tabletop is made from scrap metal, so this way it cannot be replicated because steel and the way it is handled during production is never the same. Then the reinforcement steel to support it is there to make it look as if the concrete legs came out of a demolition. The concrete shape is not just for the demolition look, but also to make the table show the emotion of the owner. The owner will have thoughts when destroying the legs and those thought at that moment will be visible to them.
Sponsored
Explore Beyond Designers.org
Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.
More to Explore
Related Designs
Explore more award-winning designs from the same category, selected by merit.
