The transparency of wood

Here is one of the latest creations from the Japanese design studio Nendo: the “Transparent Table”. It is a series of two wooden tables on trestles, using acrylic resin, to give them a different appearance, depending on where you are in relation to the object. More precisely, these two tables generate an opposing optical effect: from a distance, the first black table seems to be made of wood but reveals its transparency once you get closer, whilst the second table seems translucent from afar. It is only when you move nearer that you discover its pattern, with lines which make it look like wood. From a technical point of view, the “planks” are produced by casting transparent resin in a wooden mould with a rough surface. In treating acrylic resin this way, to give it the appearance of wood, the Japanese have created a refined, surrealistic object mixing codes and materials.