Welding Wood

, the new furniture project from Spanish design firm CuldeSac, is a collection for bars and restaurants that includes bar stools and occasional tables. What’s interesting about this group of furniture is that it reinvigorates two old woodworking techniques, lathe joined wood and steam bentwood. The combination then produces a new technique–what CuldeSac terms Welding Wood, which indicates where the two types of wood meld. But it’s more than just interesting to look at: by combining these techniques, the wood is strengthened. The resulting shape, defined by sinuous fluctuations, serves to support the furniture’s construction.

Welding Wood. Designed by CuldeSac.

The widening “joints” actually illustrate where Welding Wood has gained stability. All of this makes the collection ideal for bars and restaurants, locations prone to abusing furniture. Seats can be covered in cane or mesh, and tables get topped with solid wood. CuldeSac works on everything from furniture design to branding. The group includes all kinds of specialists, which benefits their collective thought process, since the employees work across different and divergent fields: “This union of people with markedly multidisciplinary characters has made CuldeSac become a laboratory of unique experiences.” A look at their projects page emphasizes the company’s wide range of work; they have designed for Aston Martin, H & M, and Tiffany. In 2009, their Atlantic Chair for Bernhardt Design won a Best Contract Seating Award from Interior Design Magazine. Like Welding Wood, CuldeSac mixes it up in order to create fresh design.