CAN’s Liquid Geology Tables Are Made From "Rubber Rock"

Architecture practice CAN has branched out into furniture, with a collection of tables that fuse material innovation with experimental forms and textures. Encompassing a dining, coffee, and side table, the “Liquid Geology” collection makes use of hand cut steel and a material CAN calls “rubber rock” – a combination of recycled rubber chips and resin.

To make the tables, the designers cut the steel by hand and bent it around its edges in order to form a rounded lip. The tops and legs contrast in texture – the top features a softly undulating surface, while the table legs are craggy and rough, and are crafted from the so-called rubber rock material.

For the colour palette – which ranges from a rich blue, to mossy green and rusty orange – CAN drew inspiration from paintings of the sunrise and sunset over the River Thames by artist Claude Monet. In order to achieve this, the tops were coated in enamel and fired in a kiln at 820 degrees celsius, before being hand splattered in a contrasting tone, given a final re-firing.

“Liquid Geology embodies CAN’s unique studio personality, unencumbered by style and influenced by kaleidoscopic colours, classical art, geography, pop culture, music and film,” the studio says. “We drew on the rich detailing and colouring of the impressionists’ work alongside the practices’ own ongoing research into geographic contexts to arrive at furniture with an otherworldly feel.”

Elsewhere in design, Saint Laurent Rive Droite and HERVET-MANUFACTURIER have come together to produce a range of longboards and a longboard-inspired coffee table in two sizes.