Philosophical dining

Function dictates form in schneider+schumacher’s newly designed table: the table is round to ensure all guests are on an equal footing and its diameter, measuring 260 cm, is derived from the width required to seat twelve people comfortably. The table segments form concentric rings around a 130 cm radius hole in the centre, corresponding to half the diameter of the table.

Constructed by the joinery workshop Schreinerei Hein, the table is made entirely out of plywood, with four base-frame elements that support two square elements above. The segments that create the table surface are milled and sawn in such a way that they can be transported as rectilinear pieces, so a circle is formed only when the table is erected. Lastly, twelve placemat settings, connected together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, are laid out adjoining each other, thus preventing anything falling down between them. When folded away, the entire table fits into an estate car and can be easily transported from place to place.

The table was designed for a series of culinary events taking place at Frankfurt’s Mousonturm from late September under the motto ‘philosophical dining’. Frankfurt’s Book Fair provided the catalyst and the idea is to bring people together to exchange thoughts over a set menu with writers and philosophers from Flanders and the Netherlands. It was Leon Joskowitz and Ronny Bolz who initiated this dining format, which normally takes place at Frankfurt’s Museum Angewandte Kunst and now it is going on tour.