Kate’s Designpost is part of a wider collaboration between LDF, the American Hardwood Export Council, and three leading British furniture makers Benchmark, Sebastian Cox and Jan Hendzel that pays tribute to London’s neighbourhoods and presents the potential of an underused and highly sustainable material – American red oak.
The form of Kate’s Designnpost explores the etymology of the district and its historic relationship with water through different strands of history, beginning with Clerkenwell’s origins in the 1100s as the ‘Clerk’s Well’.
Kate’s design is a large and beautiful 3d jigsaw, made up of various components both hand crafted and CNC machined. As the design contains many component parts, a hidden system of stainless steel tubes are used to support the sculpture. The stucture contains a water table, produced from 98 painted wooden tiles, and the timber ‘river’ that extends to create seating nooks and coffee tables.
The Designpost is located in St John’s Square and is one of ten that can be found in locations across London; Islington, the Design Museum, Shoreditch, Southwark South, Brompton, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Park Royal and King’s Cross.
Made by Jan Hendzel Studio
