WWCDLP
Storage Systems 2000
Architect: Touraine Richmond Architects
Client: Wim and Donata Wenders
Program: Stores 4,000 CD’s and 1500 LP’s
Service: Furniture Design
Fabricator: Greg Abbott, Kleen Design
This storage system houses 4000 CD’s and 1500 LP’s. It is 11′ x 4′ x 30″h. Commissioned by a film director for his home theater, the frame is made of a minimal one-inch steel tube grid. The steel structure is clad with birch panels laminated with brushed aluminum sheets. The minimal simplicity of the massive aluminum box contrasts sharply with the delicacy and complexity of steel and drawer contents when flipped open. The box mutates into several different uses. First, the upper panel is split in two lengthwise. The leaves slide into position via hydraulic pistons to create legroom below for use as a conference table.
Second, the two end panels flip up to make more work surfaces at either end. The drawers open with the use of touch-latch mechanisms. The joints between drawers are discrete, the tolerances almost imperceptible. The project is inspired by the minimalist work of Donald Judd. Flipped and split open, the unit reveals the complexity of its working parts and colorful contents. The concept is also inspired by the airplane wing which, when fully deployed, reveals its frightening delicacy. This contrast exists in the “Double Secret” by Rene Magritte, which depicts a woman’s serene face peeled away to reveal complex inner workings.