A desk that brings people together.
Bronx River Arts Council
Bronx, NY
Complete, 2019
Design
Of Possible with Tattfoo Tan
Fabrication
Proptogroup
Photography
Graham Hebel
Of Possible won 1st place in the City of New York’s Department of Design and Construction open competition for the design and fabrication of a custom reception desk for the Bronx River Art Center (BRAC). BRAC was founded in 1987 to bring arts programming to the West Farms community of the Bronx. BRAC occupies a prominent building on the Bronx River containing galleries, classrooms, fabrication facilities, and artist studios. Upon opening their newly renovated headquarters, BRAC along with the NYC Department of Design and Construction held an open competition to commission the design and fabrication of a custom reception desk for the building’s lobby and main gallery.
The client wanted a gallery reception desk is an inviting beacon and a signal that their arts center is a forum for community, artist, and youth to transform creativity into vision.
The design draws inspiration from the landscape of the nearby Bronx River. The fluid shape of the desk is inspired by the nearby river rocks. The four sides of the desk gently curve in towards the middle as if sculpted by the flowing river. This shape draws visitors and the gallery attendants closer together. The shape is a welcoming gesture that beckons visitors to approach it and enter the gallery. The desk hugs visitors and begs to be touched. The form amplifies the relationship between visitors, gallery staff, the building, and the landscape of the Bronx River. Of Possible conceived the design as a relational sculpture that functions as a reception desk.
The design team led by Of Possible worked in close collaboration with the artist and social sculptor, Tattfoo Tan, and fabrication studio ProptoGroup. ProptoGroup led by Mena Henry fabricated the desk. ApplePly plywood was selected as the primary material for its stability, density, and ability to be CNC milled and sculpted into the complex geometry. The construction of the desk is a marriage of digital and analog craft. The form of the desk is a union of furniture design and social sculpture.