Creating an illusion of instructural improbability.
No tools, no glue. Glass and marble in six different color options.
Designed by
Theodore H. Waddell, Architect
More than just a table, this is a challenge to gravity. The TW 7401 Coffee Table is born from the desire to make the invisible visible: an exercise in tension where the structure seems to disappear, leaving room for pure wonder.
Drawing inspiration from the principles of tensegrity and the research of Theodore Waddell, the design relies on the cantilevered interlocking system. The result is a suspended grid where forces naturally cancel out and support one another: the legs that support the glass do not touch the floor, while those resting on the floor do not reach the top.
Brought back to light by Participation Designs, this historic piece from 1978 (featured in Ottagono magazine) is now living a new season.
Offered in unique or limited editions and crafted from noble materials such as rare woods and marbles, the TW 7401 Coffee Table transforms function into sculpture, telling a timeless story of intuition, rationality, and poetry.
Technical
Structure
Self-supporting cantilever grid, assembled entirely without glue or structural hardware.
Shape
Square or Circular (using 3 or 4 crossbars).
Adjustability
Height adjustable to 3 different levels via specific incisions in the legs.
Finishes
Selected woods and marbles with glass top
Variants
Available in wood & marble, total marble and some limited edition versions.
Backstory
The idea for the TW 7401 Coffee Table came from an old bar trick. You are given three knives and four glasses. Three of the glasses are placed farther apart the length of a knife. How do you suspend the fourth glass over the three? The tip of one knife is placed over the tip of another, and the tip of the third knife is placed over the second and under the first. This array is large enough to reach the glasses, and the fourth glass can be set on top of it, in the middle. The cantilevered crossbars of this table does the same thing.
THE LEGS WHICH CARRY THE GLASS DO NOT TOUCH THE FLOOR AND THE LEGS WHICH REST ON THE FLOOR DO NOT CARRY THE GLASS.