The poetry of wood combined with technology… The Smart Wood family is growing with the arrival of the Earl of Wood desk, which brings together a steel wire base and a thin curved wood tabletop, creating a delicate contour. Using a unique and patented technique, the wood is moulded to create a thin tabletop with sinuous features. This essential design desk is perfect for both homes and offices. The tabletop is curved at the lower and upper edges, providing great freedom of movement. With the Smart Wood collection, Kartell and Philippe Starck rise to a new challenge: working wood with the same fluidity as composite materials to give it a new look, full of finesse and curves. The major figures Ray and Charles Eames were the first to experiment with moulding plywood into complex shapes. More than 50 years later, technological advances have allowed Kartell to offer even more with less. This feat was made possible thanks to unique patented 3D technology that produces wood curvature in extreme proportions. The moulded wood adopts incredible, sinuous lines. Breaking ground in a new chapter in the brand’s history, the Smart Wood collection is the result of an ecological commitment and constant searching for innovation. To reduce the cutting down of trees, the tabletop uses very little material: just wood residues. It’s made from wood nano-shavings glued into nano-layers which are then laminated. Then, using machines that cut the wood in line, the wood takes on the appearance of a kind of fabric that can be deformed. For 10 to 15 minutes, the wood, now soft as silk, can be moulded. As it dries, it stiffens and returns to the texture of wood. Claudio Luti, president of Kartell, explains: “After years of research, we managed to work the wood while respecting the nobility of the material. Innovative technology has allowed us to stay true to the industrial characteristics of Kartell’s DNA. We thus managed to wholly express the real essence of wood by combining industrial production with beauty, solidity, comfort and flexibility, all in one product.”

In detail:

Variation : Dark wood / Black legs

Brand : Kartell

Designer : Philippe Starck

Type : Desk

Colour : Tabletop: black wood / Base: black

Material : Curved wood tabletop: plywood made from seven nano-layers of ash wood, sourced from FSC-controlled production chains, moulded using 3D technology – Base: chromed steel

Dimensions : L 119 x D 65 cm x H 72.5 cm / Height with edging: H 87.5 cm – Tabletop: L 114 x Depth 54 cm

Weight : 26.4 lb

Characteristics : Creation date: 2021 – Unique patented 3D wood moulding technology – Wood from controlled production (FSC) – Made in Italy

Country of Manufacture : Italy