Transparent stress table is a parametric table designed and manufactured in our fablab in Villaviciosa de Odón. This meeting table is part of one of our lines of research on parametric design and digital manufacturing of furniture.

In the first place, its design arises from the analysis of the state of load of the transparent deck on the steel structure when it is in use. Starting from an inherited steel structure, we designed a meeting table based on the idea of structural honesty.

Secondly, to materialize the parametric transparent stress table, we perform a series of simulations of the structural behavior of the part. Likewise, the zones with negligible work/stress are discarded and the main stress curves are plotted. For this reason, this work was carried out using parametric design tools such as Rhinoceros + Grasshopper + Millipede. Finally, it was mechanized by CNC cutting and engraving on a solid 20 mm thick methacrylate board.

As a result of this structural cleaning work, it is a simple and straightforward design work. On the other hand, depending on the observer, the tracing becomes paths, whimsical drawings, drifts, which each person interprets, etc.

We show below a selection of images:

Project data

Name: Transparent stresstable
Design: EXarchitects
Year: 2016
Measurements: 2000 x 1200 x 750 mm
Material: 20 mm thick transparent methacrylate mechanized in 3D + existing steel structure
Photographs: Roque Peña Pidal + Diego Sanabria Sunyé (EXarchitects)
Manufacture and 3D development: TechLab de EXarchitects
Assembly and Mounting: EXarchitects
Software used: Rhinoceros 3D + Grasshopper + Millipede