The strength of polyester, aluminium and steel dictated the size of tables in this series by Belgian architects Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen (+ slideshow).
Office KGDVS worked in collaboration with engineer Arthur de Roover to demonstrate the structural properties of different materials.
They created a set of three tables – entitled Prototype 1 to 3 – for Belgian furniture brand Maniera, with legs and frames made from extruded 5-by-5-centimetre L-shaped profiles of the chosen materials.
The smallest table uses extruded polyester, a product more commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.
In this material, the profiles are able to produce a square table with a span of 100 centimetres and support the weight of everyday objects placed on top.
Kept at the same width as the first design for comparison, the aluminium table managed a span of 185 centimetres and the steel table extended to 260 centimetres.
An epoxy coating on all three tabletops creates a uniform surface across the three prototypes and provides a contrast to the profiles.
The legs are detachable to allow flat-pack shipping. A metal connection pin is used to attach the vertical elements to the horizontal table top.
This "cuff button" – as the designers have named it – sits in the inner part of the L-profiles.
Accompanying the tables, the Solo Chair references Thonet's No.6822 walking-stick chair.
The circular seat has a small square table suspended above it. A steel stabiliser on the lower part of the diagonal support provides a counter-balance for the weight of the table and any objects placed on it.
The collection was launched earlier this year alongside work by Dutch artist and architect Anne Holptrop at an exhibition held in the loft-like home of Maniera co-founders Kwinten Lavigne and Amaryllis Jacobs – a former jazz club and lingerie factory in downtown Brussels.
Photography is by Sven Laurent.