companion cabinet

Cambridge, Massachusetts 2016

MIT School of Architecture and Planning

Independent study with Christopher Dewart, fabrication shops director

Curious about woodworking and digital fabrication, I embarked in this six month long project, that was perhaps never entirely completed. The premise was to design and construct a piece of furniture, such as a chair or table. My aim was to build a sculptural container / box that could hold precious items by one’s side. The idea of designing a heavy, carved-out companion cabinet emerged. In reality, the process was more about falling in love with white ash.

I am forever grateful to Chris Dewart, for the patience and wisdom he shared as he guided me through this design project and woodworking journey. I initially attempted to use CNC machining to its greatest extent, but instead, much more was achieved through pure muscle, time and pressure, than with our three-axis router. Wood is a truly beautiful material. Though it can be shaped in incredible ways, It still breathes and changes. It’s will opposes the designer’s will, unless the design and the fabrication process are imbued with enough logic and harmony as to allow for the material and the design to coexist.