benjamin hubert designs lighter version of his featherweight ripple table

benjamin hubert designs lighter 2.0 production version of his featherweight ripple table
all images courtesy benjamin hubert

ahead of the design museum’s designs of the year 2014, benjamin hubert has launched the production-ready ‘2.0’ version his ripple table. developed in collaboration with canadian manufacturer corelam, the table can be assembled and maneuvered by a single person, now capable of supporting the equivalent of an adult’s weight, further demonstrating the properties of the lightweight construction. following a series of rigorous strength and stability tests undertaken by the london-based studio, the underside of the table’s surface now curves gently across its length and width, adding tensile strength to the structure.

the improved leg design now employs a hollow triangular profile that offers increased strength and rigidity in two directions; the brace between the legs has a curved cross section to increase the strength of the connection between the leg and the table surface. as the corrugated plywood meets the legs, it gradually transitions to a flat surface, providing a smooth intersection.

ripple uses 80% less material than a standard timber table, and at 2.5m x 1 m in size, it offers ample room for ten people to sit. the table’s impressive strength to weight ratio is enabled by an innovative production process of corrugating plywood for furniture through pressure lamination, which was invented by corelam.

ripple is made entirely from 3 ply 0.8mm sitka spruce, a timber sourced only in canada, where the table is manufactured. the engineered timber was also used in construction of the hughes h-4 hercules – popularly known as the ‘spruce goose’ – the world’s largest all-timber airplane. the strength of the material in combination with a unique lamination process means the edge of ripple measures just 3.5mm.

ripple was designed as part of an internal studio research project into lightweight constructions, and was first launched at ARAM store during london design festival last year.