Konstantinos Chadoulos, Marquetry Bar Cabinet (WORLD 2024)

Photos:

Costas Gatsis

Country:

Greece

Design and construction of bar furniture with decorative geometric marquetry by Mockinbird Studio, @mockinbird_studio. The construction was designed and implemented according to the specifications provided by the clients, trusting the aesthetics that characterize our Studio combined with the absolute freedom to design. It is a demanding construction, since it bears semi-circular forms of particular geometries in the marquetry which is constructed by combining various modern and non carpentry techniques. The main body of the furniture incorporates two recognizable techniques of our Studio. It carries circular corners and is decorated with geometric marquetry designed exclusively for the needs of this piece of furniture with key influences from the 70's. The combination of the two features give the furniture a three-dimensional visual effect. The veneers that make up the marquetry are Padauk, Coto, Tulipheart, and oak. The interior of the structure is structured in such a way that it serves its utility as a piece of liquor cabinet furniture. It is structured in three levels - spaces, the first level was created with specifications to accommodate glasses of any beverage. The next level accommodates bottles of alcoholic beverages. The innovative element of this project, is that it has a hidden serving surface which has a push to open and soft close mechanism. The use of the mechanisms was applied in order to avoid the use of any knob that would interrupt the aesthetic harmony of the cabinet furniture. This structure ergonomically facilitates the serving of beverages, since the order in which the process is followed is observed, and it is also at the ideal serving height. The last level was created to accommodate auxiliary equipment such as carafes, muddler, shaker, etc. As for the trim of the structure, we chose a dark charcoal-coloured veneer, which gives the furniture a luxurious feeling as it creates reflections on the objects placed inside. The legs of the furniture are of semi-circular shapes, and their construction was carried out by using the segmented wood technique. We chose to imbue them in black to create a contrast with the colour palette of the marquetry. To put extra emphasis on details, all the peripherals of the furniture are made of solid brass (bronze). The handmade knobs were designed and manufactured from scratch since commercial solutions could not deliver the desired result. The entire door profile is equally made of bronze as well as are the leg crossbars, hinges and closers. The screws chosen to be used are also handcrafted out of brass since the oxidation of the metal is intended to be colour homogeneous. The finish of the construction was done with acrylic matte varnishes (non yellowing). The dimensions of the bar furniture are 100*45*165cm (W*D*H*W).

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