Rolha Side Table by Gonçalo Campos
Portuguese product designer Gonçalo Campos has created the Rolha side table.
From the designer:
Cork is a very special material with qualities that make it perfect for a wide range of technical applications, while being environmentally sustainable, reason why it has seen a great appreciation in the last few years.
Most of its harvesting and production is also based in Portugal, because of the particularly favourable climate to it’s growth, and the deep tradition in using cork in the most incredible applications; inspiring rituals and tools that have been kept through generations.
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“Rolha”, (Portuguese for the cork stopper used in wine bottles), is a side table inspired by one of these rituals, the most recognisable and age old of all, the uncorking of a fine wine.
This table is composed by very simple elements. A solid, turned cork top and 3 turned wood legs, fitted with a screw, similar to the ones used to uncork traditional wine bottles.
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By simply twisting the legs in the cork top (in a very familiar motion), this table can easily be assembled without any tools. Thanks to the amazing mechanical properties of cork, this elementary action is enough to keep the table sturdy and stable.
This is a project that uses cork for its physical and aesthetic properties, in a way that respects the history, traditions and rituals associated to the material, while emphasizing it’s aesthetic qualities.
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Designer: Gonçalo Campos
amy on 05 Mar 2013 at 5:21 pm #
Very nice matching of construction technique to material
And the little table has a lot of personality in its simplicity.
eric g on 06 Mar 2013 at 8:44 pm #
how many times can you take the legs on and off before the cork comes apart?
Joejoe on 07 Mar 2013 at 1:05 pm #
Too bad you can never spill a drop of anything on it ever without it staining. I wonder if durability plays into the notion that this is “sustainable”.
Eduard on 11 Mar 2013 at 9:29 pm #
blindingly bad… this is the perfect example of designs and the disconnect between conceptual and practical world. what happens when even a small child sits on it? or it is used as a foot stool? what happens if the screw doesn’t hit the dead center of the indentation? poor material choice. poor connection concept