The white table top appears to float at first glance, but is in fact supported on an extended arm from each of the four black chairs.

Ingo Maurer devised a hidden mechanism beneath the table that allows the chairs to be pulled out so users can sit down. Rectangular and circular surfaces are available.

The wooden table was first conceived in 2012 and has since been put into production with Established & Sons. The furniture was shown at Ventura Lambrate in Milan last month.

We've recently featured a coffee table by Foster + Partners made from a stretched metal disk and a shape-shifting table that transforms from a square to a triangle.

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Here is some extra information from Established & Sons:

This innovative piece is the first production table from the widely celebrated designer, Ingo Maurer. On first inspection, it appears to be archetypal wooden kitchen table and chairs but on closer viewing the table is revealed as ‘floating’; without any legs, supported by a simple extending mechanism which connects the chairs. Maurer has drawn inspiration from magic, ethereal substance and weightlessness. Floating Table invites the user to look more carefully at their simple daily objects and furniture for elements of surprise.

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News: Sebastian Wrong has resigned as design director of Established & Sons, becoming the fourth of five founding partners to exit the British design brand.

Established & Sons was founded in 2005 by designers Tamara Caspersz, Mark Holmes, Alasdhair Willis and Sebastian Wrong together with Angad Paul of business group Caparo.

Renowned for its extravagant parties in the first few years, the brand was initially set up as a platform for British design and manufacturing but has more recently been working with international designers such as Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Konstantin Grcic.

Casperz and Holmes left Established & Sons in 2008 to set up the London-based design brand Minimalux, then Willis departed two years later to start The Anonymous Partner branding agency.

Last year Wrong launched The Wrong Shop, intended for leading designers to experiment with unorthodox production methods, at the Qubique design event in Berlin.

"I have been very privileged to have been part of the Established & Sons team from the very beginning and am proud of the great things we have achieved," said Wrong in a statement. "Our vision as a brand has made a significant mark in the industry as a creative force that has inspired many. I am looking forward to concentrating on new projects at this time and wish the business every success for the future."

Established & Sons is now led by Angad Paul and CEO Maurizio Mussati, who was appointed to the role following Willis' departure.

Last year Dezeen filmed Wrong giving a tour of Established & Sons' exhibition inside a former fire station Berlin Tempelhof airport as part of the design fair Qubique 2011.

More recently we featured Established & Sons' exhibition of benches at the V&A museum as part of this year's London Design Festival, which included designs from Jasper Morrison, AL_A and Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.

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Each of the one-off benches is made from a different material and produced in collaboration with a company specialising in that material. After being on display for the festival they'll be auctioned off and the money fed back to fund next year's London Design Festival commissions.

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the designers of the Olympic torch, made a marble bench with holes bored through (above) in collaboration with Italian studio Tor Art. They were inspired by shrapnel marks left in the V&A museum's western facade after the Second World War. "It's something that always fascinated me and Ed on the way from South Kensington tube up to the Royal College when we were students, and so when this project came up we thought it was a nice way to reference that," explained Jay Osgerby at the opening.

AL_A, the architecture practice led by Amanda Levete, worked with Barcelona ceramics company Ceramica Cumella to come up with a bench (above) made of overlapping tiles, glazed with colours inspired by the museum's ceramics collections. AL_A is also designing a new subterranean gallery for the museum.

British designer Alexander Taylor made a bench from mirror-polished stainless steel cylinders (above) with steel specialists Caparo. He explained that making perfect cylinders in steel is tricky because "the material is extruded with an oval profile so it has to be cut and put back together again."

Italian designer Martino Gamper built a wooden bench (above) from slanted planks of thermally modified hardwood, treated to improve its stability and resistance to decay. The angled stripes of red oak, maple, ash, yellow birch and tulipwood provided by the American Hardwood Export Council create an "optical illusion" and "somehow give the impression of animation" said Gamper, adding that the modular system can be extended to any length.

British designer Jasper Morrison collaborated with concrete specialists lowinfo to create a concrete bench (above) with narrow runnels along the seat that allow rain water to drain away despite the seat being curved for comfort, while German designer Konstantin Grcic worked with Italian company Bisazza on a glass mosaic bench (below).

Portugese designer Fernando Brizio created a cork bench in the shape of a pig's foot (below) with Amorim Cork.

British designer Felix de Pass produced a cream-coloured sheet-steel bench (below) with perforations that help water drain away and disperse heat from the sun. It's an adaptation of his bench that's already in production with Established & Sons.

Sam Hecht and Kim Colin from Industrial Facility worked with Corian, a material often used for kitchen worktops, to create two benches (below) that mimic the marble plinths found inside the museum.

Sadly the final bench in the collection, created by Italian designer Luca Nichetto and glass manufacturer Nardo Vetro, was broken in transit.

Other installations at the V&A during the London Design Festival include Keiichi Matsuda's data visualisation and chairs by Nendo scattered around the museum.

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at the V&A museum appeared first on Dezeen.

Designed in Hackney: today's design icon created in the London borough of Hackney is Jasper Morrison's Crate Series. 

The range of yellow-pine storage units with coloured fabric hinges can be used as tables, cabinets and even a spare bed.

They were first presented in Milan back in 2007 by British brand Established & Sons, who are also based in Hackney on Wenlock Road. Morrison's studio was located on Hoxton Square at the time and he's since moved to Kingsland Road in Shoreditch.

Designed in Hackney map:

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Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. We’ll publish buildings, interiors and objects that have been designed in Hackney each day until the games this summer.

More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.

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by Jasper Morrison appeared first on Dezeen.

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