Fence Table

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Fence Table

May 2022 - Architectural Structure & Envelopes cum Digital Design Fabrication

Mentors - Sam Joyce & Stylianos Dritsas

Team Members - Mudassar Ahmad, Georgia Tan, Hayley Ho, Isaac Soh, Ray

The brief was to design and fabricate a table for architecture exhibitions. The tabletop, a large piece of plywood was a provided constant and cannot be designed. The only materials provided that needed to be used were long wooden dowels of profile 2.5mm by 2.5mm. Our team decided to interpret the brief into the concepts of fast assembly, disassembly, and ease of transportation. The collaboration between the team members allowed the realisation of the artifact from design to fabrication within a short period.

Final artifact of the table legs extended fully. Hardwood dowels form the main truss structure while plywood and metal piano hinges support it.

The legs were precisely designed to extend throughout the entire length of the table top but not beyond it. This mitigates uneven load-bearing throughout the table.

Iteration 1 took the fence metaphor literally. This was unfeasible as the design exceeded the amount of hardwood dowels provided. It would also be too heavy to be transported by hand.

Iteration 2 explored the other extreme where the panels were hollowed out. Advice was given from professors to strengthen the panels with a truss.

In Iteration 3, the addition of a truss structure allowed the table to receive a greater load from the exhibited items.

This view of the folded artifact shows how magnets were installed to the hinges to ensure the structure does not fold back into itself after assembly.

Joint plates of thickness ranging from 1mm to 5mm were explored. 2 of these thickness were eventually used to ensure that the joint plate did not interfere with the folding or unfolding at the hinge.Thicker joint plates were used on sides facing away from the hinge.

This arrangement of panels ensures a maximum openable angle of approximately 90%. Thicker joint plates were used on sides facing away from the hinge. Thinner joint plates were used at the hinge (shown above).

All hands on deck! We all held the table while passing the marker from one person to the next to indicate the position of the piano hinges.

On testing day, our table was found to withstand the most weight with minimal shaking & imbalance. Pictured here are 50kg of weights and a bubble level on the table.

A group shot to celebrate the end of a great project. There must be at least 200kg on the table here!

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