HOUSE OF TODAY COLLABORATIVE DESIGN EXHIBITION

1.The final battle between two nemeses, in which there can be but one victor.

2.The final round in a poker match, where the all remaining players’ cards have to be put down on the table and shown.

Can business relations be honest and uncensored? Can one be “naked” in the professional world?

The designed object intends to challenge that concept by recreating the surface that witnesses transactions, negotiations and power struggles: a meeting table.

The proposed table goes beyond courtesies or diplomacies that belie hidden agendas.

The table top is in steel with gunmetal finish brushed concentrically. Cast in resin, a set of weapons articulates the underside of the table, within reach from each of the seated guests.

The legs are an extension of the underside: also made of resin, the profile of the legs recalls the trajectory of bullets.

Choose your weapon and keep calm.

PROJECT INFO

Size: 140cm(w) x 75cm(h)
Date: 2014
Type: Competition/Exhibition
Client: House of Today

PROJECT CREDITS

MG Partners: Michèle Chaya, Georges Maria
MG Team: William Wehbé, Ismail Bdeiry
Photography: Marco Pinarelli 

IWAN MAKTABI CARPET

An old house, a wooden window frame, light projecting through.

Weaving past and present, in tones of grey and white, the carpet captures this fleeting moment, and preserves its memory in a physical object, in space.

Commissioned by Gabriel & Guillaume, the Cornette lamp continues our exploration with washi paper. It's an ode to the "religieuses" floor lamps that have marked iconic designs of the XXth century. The large shade is a result of stacking of horizontal layers of washi with folds and warps that draw the irregular contours of its curvy volume. The base is made in hammered aged brass in one continuous form that narrows towards its center.

Material:

Washi Paper, Steel, Light

Conceived for an open space apartment where the dining area is juxtaposed with the living, the M console defines the line between the 2 spaces.

All made of mirror polished stainless steel, the console sits behind a sofa yet works as a service table for the dining, reflecting both in an infinite play of light and depth.

Material:

Mirror polished stainless steel

Photographer:

Walid Rashid

This piece is commissioned by Gabriel & Guillaume for the Salon Art + Design that is held in New York from November 14 to November 18, 2019.

It is the result of a collaborative work between SPOCKDESIGN and MARIAGROUP, who happen to combine their efforts on a handful of other projects. The collective approach bridges an interest in the shaping of space, scale and form through design detailing and craftsmanship.

As the force that gives shape to most large scale structures of our universe, gravity is depicted by the movement of light around a dark center, the deformation of the fibrous paper around an abstract void. 

Materials:

Washi Paper, Steel, Light

Team:

MARIAGROUP + SPOCKDESIGN

Photographer:

Emile Zeenny

The dining table derives its character from the idea of 2 circular tables conjoined into one: a smaller table that can fit 6 people and a larger one that can fit 10. When the seated guests are grouped around one of the tables, the other part acts as a service table.

All carved out of one single block of Pentellic marble, the table can also be used at once to cater for 14 people.

The sinuous curves obtained at the intersection of the 2 circles create the singularity of the shape. The whole is hand polished into a soap-like texture.

Material:

Pentelic marble

We approached the “The Art of Dining” as a spatial and visual act that engages all the senses.
Rather than focusing solely on the table, as the single setting to dining, we have created a complete environment, focusing on the dialogue between the central table, on the horizontal plane of the ground, and an equally singular lighting element, animating the ceiling plane.
An organic wooden table is covered in a thin layer of white plaster, a molded tailored “tablecloth” that subverts its usual texture to an earthy material one.
Molded white candle holders rise from the surface of the plaster plane, further accentuating the abstraction of the elements involved in dining, acting as a single cast model of a dining table.
Above, a light suspension formed of three circular colored light filters and a mirror absorb and reflect back the light from the candles, the white surface of the table, and the space around.
This play in visual optics is simultaneously enhanced and
further highlights the abstraction of the white table, drawing colors and shadows across its surface.
Rattan chairs surround the abstract plane of the table, and shape the spatial enclosure of “dining” through their high backs, within which each guest sits as on a throne, sheltered and centered around the dining space.
Thus a complete infrastructure of dining is created:
An abstract horizontal plane, a topography of hosted elements, an interactive ceiling, all activated by the guests, anchored in their high chairs around the space.

PROJECT INFO

Dimensions: 4.20 x 1.50 m
Materials: Table: Oak, Plaster, Black Painted Steel legs | Chairs: Rattan, Velvet cushions | Light Fixture: Black Painted Steel disks, Colored filters.
Date: 2017
Location: Beirut, Lebanon

PROJECT CREDITS

MG Partners: Michèle Chaya, Georges Maria
MG Team: William Wehbé, Ismail Bdeiry
Lighting Design: Maurice Asso / Hilights
Wood table: YEW Distinct Wood
Floral Design: The Flowerist