Tel Aviv-based Hilla Shamia Design Studio's Wood Casting collection is made by inserting lengths of tree trunk into a mould and filling the spaces with molten metal (+ slideshow).

Tables, stools and benches in the furniture range are constructed by splitting full-length tree trunks to make wooden planks.

The planks are then inserted into a mould, which provides the form of the piece of furniture.

Molten aluminium is poured over the wood, filling the leftover spaces in the mould and completing the piece.

The heat of the metal burns the edges of the wood and creates a line of charcoal between the two materials.

"The casting process is like a drama, accompanied by high heat, flames and smoke," Shamia told Dezeen. "This drama produces a third material – coal."

"The dark coal narrates the love story between the [wood and aluminium], emphasising their initial meeting, outlining a sense of continuation, and maintaining a sense of flow even when the two materials are solid and strong, just like the dynamics between an elderly couple."

The two frequently-combined contrasting materials were the starting point for the concept.

"Wood is an organic material, which is influenced negatively by fire and heat; it may burn completely," said the designer. "Metal, on the other hand, is a natural resource, which is very durable against heat – it simply changes its state, turning from solid to liquid."

"Using this special technology of casting metal into wood, I was able to originate completely new connections and geometrical adjournments between the two."

The collection is a development of Shamia’s 2012 graduate project from the Department of Industrial Design at Holon Institute of Technology.