WAHDA BENCH BY HAMAD KHOORY

Thermally-modified American hard maple.

 

Inspired by the traditional majlis with its inherent values of humility, equality and community, the Wahda bench is an exploration of connection and separation.

Employing thermally-modified maple in cuboid modular units of seat, tree, planter and sanitization, the modules engage with a linear comb-like thermally-modified maple base, a plug-and-play approach of slipping into and out of the comb, with many possible configurations. The bench is thus an expression of community and disunity, with the separated seat modules slipping out of the main bench, and then slipping back when the social distancing measures of the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer required, creating the final bench form.

 

With a passion for art and sculpture through his earlier years, Hamad Khoory completed two visual art programs with distinction after which he completed his Bachelor in Architecture (BArch ’08) and Masters in Architecture, with a concentration in design and research (MArch ’09) both at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, between Boston, USA and Berlin, Germany. His experience in multinational companies includes W.S Atkins, RMJM as well as Ruy Ohtake Arquitetura e Urbanismo in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

LOCI is a Dubai-based practice operating in the fields of contemporary architecture, urban planning, interior architecture and product design. Established By Hamad Khoory & Hani Fallaha in 2012. LOCI is a culturally driven design-led studio that believes in the importance of context and the power of the locus to inform its design process and architecture. 

 

The 1.468 cubic metres of thermally-modified hard maple used to make Hamad's bench would be replaced in the US hardwood forest through natural growth in just 5 seconds. For the lifetime of the piece, the hard maple in the Wahda bench will keep just over 828 kg of CO2 equivalent out of the atmosphere.

 

How to use

The Maplewood 'Wadha' bench was designed with cuboid modular units that can be connected or separated from the comb-like base; The bench is thus an expression of Community and Disunity. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic measures are in place, the modules are separated with a safe distance. Once the pandemic has passed it will transition back to the final bench form. 

 

Photography by Natelee Cocks