imm cologne 09: kauri design by mario botta for riva 1920

the italian manufacturer riva 1920 presented probably the largest and oldest table of the world.
architect mario botta used kauriwood from new zealand.

image © designboom

image © designboom 

image © designboom  

image © designboom 

in new zealand approximately 50.000 years ago, cataclysms and other natural disasters,
which took place at the end of the glacial period, razed entire forests, covering them
with water and mud. the particular characteristics of that mud together with the lack
of oxygen, have protected this wood against the chemical process of decomposition
preserving it, undamaged to this day, in all its extraordinary beauty.

the millenarian kauri of the swamps has the same characteristics of a still
cut wood that allows the construction of fine, unique and exclusive tables:
length: 12,00 m
width: 1,80 m
plate thickness: 0,11 m
weight: 3.8 tons
age of wood: about 30,240 years

see also peace tables by george nakashima