kuidas.works builds rammed earth dining table within seven days

a temporary dining table at zero cost

Kuidas.works has constructed a dining table following the concept of zero: 0 budget and 0 footprint. As part of an Estonian TV show dubbed ‘Restaurant Null’, the final installation was completed within a week employing the simplest, ancient method of using rammed earth as the main volume. The plot of the show was to build a temporary restaurant emerging within the ruins of a Soviet sausage shop, located in the old town of Viljandi.

Within this context — creating something that leaves behind as little as possible — the final structure takes shape as a rectangular rammed earth volume with recessed tableware.

images by Kuidas.works

creating an ecological structure based on smart recycling

The project was a challenge for the design team (see more here), arising the following question: ‘With how little of budget and footprint is our studio able to work?’.

However, the structure was completed successfully within seven days guided by the concept that none of the materials are going to waste. To achieve this goal, the team utilized mainly local materials: a pile of earth, wooden trays made from old floorboards, bowls made of glass jar bottoms, steel plates, and sleeves of copper tubes for holding dining glasses. After the show, some of the materials returned to their original place or were stored for future projects. The table spans 1.1 meters in height, 6 m in length while weighing around 15 tons.

The project was realized as a conceptual centerpiece, part of a restaurant made with zero budget and minimum footprint, while it doesn’t prioritize comfortability. Following this approach, it does not come with chairs, forcing the users to be constantly aware of what happens around them. In contrast to the ordinary tables on the market, this piece is used as an alternative solution, drawing attention to an industry that has one of the biggest footprints.

The main body of the object made of clay or rammed earth and sand can easily serve as soil backfill or as building materials in the future. Even if it gets abandoned, the materials will not load the environment as the piece gradually will fade into its surrounding. And then, less than 3% of the built-in materials demand substantial recycling energy.