THE NEOBAUHAUS DESK


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The design of the Neobauhaus Desk was inspired by principles of the Bauhaus, the art and architecture school of Germany that operated between 1919-1931. While Bauhaus style became one of the most influential movements in Modernist Architecture, one of the most important contribution of the Bauhaus was actually in furniture design.

Many of the famous furniture pieces that came from the Bauhaus used two different materials that relied on the structural properties of the other to properly function (example: Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair). This inspired the use of aluminum and wood for the Neobauhaus Desk. The aluminum structural spine provides the main support for the long (about 8') span of the desktop. Twenty-four inch wide pieces of 5/8" thick cherry cantilever off of this structure. The legs are massive to contrast the lightness of the top, but they don't reach fully to the floor, emphasizing how the weight of the structure is transferred to a longer, thinner leg extension that also prevents the desk from tipping. To prevent the top from buckling as the wood expands through the seasons, slots were milled in the aluminum spine to allow for the cantilevered supports to slide as the wood expands and contracts.