grasp by matthew stromberg from usa

if the primary function of a door handle is to open a door as one enters a room, then a well-designed handle can aspire to connect our body to the material world at the threshold between nature and the built environment. the intent for this handle was to produce a tactile lever that appeals to the tacit wisdom encoded in the human grasp. the form of the handle is shaped to the hand - the thumb finds its place on the steel while the forefinger indexes in the furrow and the palm spreads across a hand-shaped wood grip. the exposed steel conveys strength while the warmth of the wood invites the touch. as leverage is generated across the handle, the intuitive connection between material object and its function is activated. the prototype was fabricated by soldering machine-cut stainless steel to a shaped piece of mild steel rod turned on a lathe. the claro walnut wood grip was cut into a blank and machined with a slot to receive the metal lever, and then shaped by hand.