What started out as a meditative exercise for designer Adam Court, who wanted to design the simplest table but in the most evolved way, has resulted in two striking pieces by the Cape Town-based design studio Okha. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the two side tables, the Rational and Irrational. Rational may appear to be an exercise in reductionism.
Made of four wafer-thin waxed mild steel plates, its subtle form is light in appearance but weighs in as true heavy metal. Irrational stands slightly taller and has systematic negative space; rows of circular precision cut-outs reminiscent of roadside braille, which lend a Jean Prouve industrial feel. The Carbon Steel form has been naturally oxidised and waxed multiple times to bring a delicate, sensitive patina to this most robust of metals.