Dutch office design company extraordinaire Ahrend revealed its new desk system at Interiuer 08. The first commercial product based on philink geometry-three sides of equal length, plus a fourth side with a 90 degree angle-Ahrend's Philink Table "offers countless constellations of both rectangular and triangular nature."

Philink, table. Designed by Caroline Voet and Jeroen Theuns. Manufactured by Ahrend.

Each desk can work individually as a stand-alone unit or it can contribute to any number of meeting arrangements, including a rather interesting star shape. According to the Philink press release, "Research shows that nearly 80% of European employees derive their motivation from working together and sharing experiences with colleagues." This makes me want to move to Europe, since I derive almost no pleasure from working with others; in fact, my motto is derived from none other than Beckett, who famously wrote that "The mistake one makes is to speak to people."

All misanthropy aside, if you are forced to work with others, Ahrend's table should "support change and keep staff motivated." I'm assuming here that Europeans, besides liking each other more, are also better at constructing in general-of course, their excellent design tradition would indicate as much. So changing the Philink's shape would prove fun and freeing to many work environments. Given Ahrend's downloadable configuration poster, one might even rearrange often. Each meeting could be different the second one entered the conference room: "setup offers a new experience and invites to yet another way of sitting together." Come to think of it, that would be inspiring.

Materials for the Philink are light, economical, and green. The tabletop is made from sustainably-cultivated bamboo, which can be nature waxed, or green or white lacquered. And the legs leave nothing to be desired: in white or black-coated steel, they neatly skim the table's edges, always providing leg room, whatever the table's configuration. The Philink, like Ahrend's Jetstream (based on the airplane wing), takes its cue from another source: the golden ratio phi, for which we can thank the pinecone, the sunflower seedpod, and bee ancestry, to name a few. Stealing from well-designed sources is an Ahrend specialty; the company claims to translate "unambiguous premises ... into furniture."

Belgian architects Caroline Voet and Jeroen Theuns of Voet Theuns architecten designed the Philink table. Both graduates of Henry van de Velde Instituut in Antwerpen, Voet and Theuns fit in well with Ahrend's philosophical and pragmatic focus to never forget the people in the office.