mdt.re

I create experimental furniture and lighting out of wood and here I share a bit of my background and philosophy. I grew up in the northern parts of the Netherlands in a family of craftspeople, though went into a totally different direction as I studied theoretical physics and pursued a PhD in particle physics. I researched for six years on new particles that could appear at the Large Hadron Collider, after which I decided to go back to working with my hands. My experience throughout my youth and my eagerness to learn drove me towards furniture out of wood, where I can experiment with design, joinery and materials. Especially interesting about the natural material that is wood I find to be its orthotropic and hydrothermal properties. This makes this natural and durable resource, fascinating from a scientific perspective as well.

The first design I created back in 2017, a cubical lamp out of reclaimed teak wood and six two-way mirrors. It allows to look into a theoretically infinite lattice of cubes. It is exemplary for my work, that is inspired by physics, geometry and nature. During my physics studies I developed a love for polyhedra and mathematical curves, which lend themselves perfectly for designs. Some examples of this are my designs boeibank, dodecagon table and rhombic 30, but also my endeavours in joinery rely heavily on geometrical and physical concepts. Besides geometry the material wood itself is a huge inspiration, for one its natural grain can make or break a piece of furniture, as well as its structural properties provide interesting constraints that modern production methods lack. This is the main reason for working with hand tools as they allow me to appreciate the wood before it becomes part of a creation.

In my designs I aim to maximize the use of durable and sustainable materials, foremost solid wood, but also metals like brass and copper, as well as glass. Whenever I roam the streets of my hometown, I am always on the lookout for thrown away pieces of furniture to source materials. See for example the scrap eye piece made of bed slats or the hanging cabinet made of burl wood veneered panels and piano hinges that were thrown away. Almost all of my workshop benches and cabinets are made of scraps or reclaimed wood. I complement this approach by finishing the wood exclusively with natural oils and waxes to preserve its natural feel and beauty.

Recently I am on the path to develop furniture that is purely made out of solid wood, no fasteners, no glue, just purely wood. This fits perfectly in my philosophy of durable furniture, fasteners like screws and glues fail at some point due to corrosion or stresses that occur naturally due to the seasonal movement of wood. Wood itself absorbs these stresses and can last over centuries as proven by Japanese temples that stood the test of time despite seismic activity. This matches perfectly to my curiosity and scientific nature as I take traditional joinery and develop new joinery methods that use the precise hydrothermal modifications that are possible nowadays. Shown here are some experimental joints using this experimental joinery: impossible dovetails (where both boards have tails that flare out), hidden frustum tenons and compressed frustum dowels. These three methods are combined into furniture that is made purely out of permanently interlocked pieces of solid wood while having a modern aesthetic.