Dutch architects UNstudio presented 'The World's Longest Table for All Cultures' for the IMM Cologne furniture fair, held last week in Germany.

The table formed the central component of the Art of Kitchen area of the fair, which showcased products from kitchen producers Allmilmö, Dornbracht, Leicht, Poggenpohl and Zeyko.

The design for the table was based on the different demands placed on kitchen tables for work, cooking, eating and socialising. The result was an area which the exhibiting brands could use for different types of activities during the fair.

The table measuerd 55m in length and was 2.6m wide. It was assembled in modular elements to allow flexibility in both length and activities supported. It includes seating areas and a bar in the central section.

UNStudio also masterplanned Hall 11 at IMM Cologne. See our previous story.

Here is some information about the table from UNStudio:

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Art of Kitchen

The Art of kitchen display stand is for producers of high quality kitchens and kitchen fixtures. These producers are Allmilmö, Dornbracht, Leicht, Poggenpohl and Zeyko.

UNStudio designed the stand for the five exhibitors as a common framework. Within this framework the exhibitors can independently present their products and visions according to their own brand profile.

Additionally, UNStudio has designed the central installation within the Art of Kitchen stand which focuses on the nature of the contemporary kitchen. The present-day kitchen is seen as a place of numerous activities, which go beyond the traditional of a kitchen as a purely place for the preparation of food.

The kitchen is perceived as a stage for cooking as a performance, a space where food can be raised to an art form, where experiments and innovation take place. The ways in which food is prepared and consumed show the effects of globalization: the contemporary kitchen is truly a place where cultures meet.

But even more the kitchen is a space for different types of social gatherings. The kitchen is the scene of family get-togethers, friends socializing, work-related activities, day-to-day dining, formal entertaining, late-night snacks, Sunday brunches, hurried breakfasts and so on.

These aspects are translated and incorporated integrally into the world’s longest kitchen table, which offers a place for different types of activities from intimate and secluded to formal meetings for bigger groups..

The table has a length of 55m and a width of 2.6m. It is designed on a modular basis, offering the possibility to use the table in different configurations, and making it shorter or longer. The modular system serves as a generic framework for adding new elements, altogether generating ‘THE WORLD’S LONGEST TABLE FOR ALL CULTURES’.

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UNStudio:

Ben van Berkel, Caroline Bos with René Wysk, Cristina Bolis and Daniela Hake, Jürgen Heinzel, Cynthia Markhoff, Isak Birgersson, Florian Zschüttig, Adriana Schein.

All photos by Roland Borkmann