Cory Micah Olsen
Works in Mass Timber
Mass Timber, Small Format
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This body of work is the result of a collaborative design research project began by myself and colleague Linda Zimmer and now continued with Dylan Wood, funded by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in partnership with the Tallwood Design Institute at Oregon State University. Our goal is the design and fabrication of furniture prototypes that were made from scrap mass timber material leftover from architectural projects. The materials include cross-laminated timber, or CLT, as well as Mass Plywood. The scraps commonly occur from door and window cutouts, parts nesting, and panel sizing.
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At left are a pair of 'tete-a-tete' chairs that were temporarily installed at the Fuller Land Lab along the Willamette River Pathway. Each is 7 feet in height and feature opposed single seats that allow two users to sit independently, or discreetly gossip together as in the original tete-a-tete inspiration.
The Mesa Benches
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The Mesa Bench features irregular supports that are designed to couple in a series of arrangements to allow for a variety of spatial arrays within a space. The form evokes geological features or tectonic plates, reinforced by the stratification of the mass timber material itself. The feet elements are fixed but the benchtops can be made in any length based on the material scrap available.​
The Pig Benches
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The Pig is a friendly potbellied companion that will happily laze about your space. Its body is composed of remnant Mass Plywood Panel beam material milled to form utilizing a KUKA robotic arm. Four dowel legs look slightly precarious underneath the Pig belly but do an admirable job of supporting both you and itself.
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With the smooth curvature, exposing the MPP laminations results in a pleasing topographical contour of the Pig geometry.
The Caterpillar
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With lots of legs and body segments, the Caterpillar offers seating for a crowd. Similar to the Pig, these pieces are made from remnant MPP beams and can be customized to any length. Our first prototypes are 14 feet long to match the scrap we had available.
For some fun variation, not all of the legs are structurally necessary. Given its own mass, up to the first three pairs of legs on each side could be left off and still be able to support a user on the cantilever!
The Torii Bench
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The Torii has inspiration from Japanese architecture and woodworking precedent. The legs splay outward for stability and notch into the benchtop with a timber-scale dado joint. To lighten the visual form the ends of the benchtop have a taper cut on the underside.
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Similar to the Mesa, the dimensions of the Torii can be customized to the length of scrap material available. The first physical prototype was produced by DR Johnson lumber in a 6 foot length.
The Suitcase Seat
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In its single width iteration, the Suitcase Seat resembles a carry-on bag with its handle and rolling casters. To fabricate the parts for the main body all the parts can be cut at the same bevel angle, enabling a high degree of material and machining efficiency. And as with the others, the length of the Suitcase can be made in response to the mass timber scrap available.
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The single seat version features countersunk multidirectional casters that make it very easy to roll around a room. Wider versions are intended to be monumental pieces that are fixed in place. Simple back supports of bent 3/16" steel can be custom powdercoated in any color for playful variation or in response to client specification.
Facet Coffee Table
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The Facet table features a 15 degree bevel that informs the parts and assembly of the piece. With an origami-like expression, the table plays with illusions of the mass timber material bending and folding along grain directions.
The Squall Stool
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A small stool constructed from reclaimed CLT panels, laminated and milled to final form using a KUKA robotic arm with a router spindle. The form is a parametric loft that can be modified into a family of serial difference, each unique. The loft results in a soft drape, reminiscent of flowing fabric.
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The stools are mounted on recessed casters resulting in a half inch shadow reveal, enabling the heavy mass of the object to move gracefully as the draping suggests.
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