Monkeypods
Twelve end tables for a Manhattan poolside - each one a study in the meeting of wood and concrete, organic form and geometric precision. Monkeypod, a Central American hardwood with qualities reminiscent of teak and walnut, becomes the protagonist. Its grain patterns shift from piece to piece, golden browns flowing into darker streaks, each table celebrating the tree's natural variability rather than hiding it.
The wood came from sustainable sources in Costa Rica through Diamond Tropical Hardwoods, milled locally, then shaped through a combination of robotic fabrication and traditional hand methods. This hybrid approach allowed us to achieve the fluid forms we sought while maintaining the grain orientation and structural integrity each piece required. Technology and craft working in concert, each informing the other.
The base - seemingly delicate concrete that reads lighter than its actual mass - anchors each wooden top. The pairing creates tension: heavy material appearing weightless, organic wood sitting on geometric stone. Together they form surfaces for cocktails and conversation, backgammon and books, the quiet pleasure of running your hand across carefully finished grain.
The poolside location demanded consideration. UV exposure, chlorine vapor, temperature shifts - all would test the finish. Multiple coats of UV-stable resin soaked into the porous monkeypod, then hand-polished to a matte surface that invites touch rather than repelling it. Protection without sacrificing the tactile quality that makes wood worth working with in the first place.
Project Type:
Custom Furniture Fabrication
Year Built:
2020
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Photography:
Erin Pellegrino
Built for Possibility
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Sustainably harvested monkeypod from Costa Rica through Diamond Tropical Hardwoods - a Central American species prized for qualities similar to teak and walnut. Each blank was selected for its grain pattern and structural soundness, knowing that the wood's natural variability would become a feature rather than something to hide. Golden browns flowing into darker streaks, unique figure in every piece - twelve tables, twelve distinct expressions of the same species.
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Hybrid fabrication brought together robotic precision and hand craft. CNC machinery carved the fluid organic forms, maintaining proper grain orientation for structural integrity. Then hand finishing took over - shaping, sanding, refining the surfaces until the technology's marks disappeared and only the form remained. Each method informed the other, creating results neither could achieve alone.
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A Manhattan rooftop pool demanded tables that could withstand UV exposure, chlorine vapor, and temperature extremes while maintaining their beauty. The monkeypod tops sit on concrete bases that appear lighter than their actual mass - visual tension between heavy material reading as weightless and organic wood anchored by geometric stone. Surfaces for cocktails and conversation, backgammon and books, the pleasure of material under hand.
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The poolside environment dictated the finish approach: multiple coats of UV-stable resin soaking deep into monkeypod's porous grain, then hand-polished to a matte surface that invites touch. Protection without sacrificing tactility. The concrete bases gain character as they age - slight weathering that integrates them further into their setting. Built to endure years of use while growing more beautiful with time.
Settling In
Twelve distinctive forms scattered across a Manhattan poolside interior - each table an invitation to pause, to set down a drink, to run your hand across finished grain. The monkeypod tops catch light differently throughout the day, their golden browns and darker streaks creating visual rhythm across the space. Not uniform repetition, but a collection of related objects, each one intriguing in its own right.
