SLO GEN communal table, an interesting piece of design is always bound to create a center point for the room it occupies. The SLO Gen communal table does exactly this for the Gensler’s Los Angeles office lobby. It is a collaboration between Gensler and the Department of Architecture at the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (California).
© Gensler Los Angeles
Due to its thermoforming properties, Hi MACS was the material chosen to create a smooth, fluid, seamless surface, which was what the architects and engineers aimed towards from the first meeting.
© Gensler Los Angeles
In 2011, professors Jim Doerfler and Mark Cabrinha, co-directors of Cal Poly’s Digital Fabrication Lab, began a collaboration with Gensler L.A. design director Shawn Gehle in order to create a fully virtualized studio. They started a 10-week seminar, focusing on form-finding and digital fabrication tools, with the final result of creating a furniture piece. The result is a semi waffle structure, semi smooth surface, that beautifully combines digital and physical fabrication techniques – a collective effort with a unitary result.
Project info:
Architects: Gensler
Country: USA, California
Year: 2011
Photographs: Gensler
Lidia Ratoi is a Romanian architect, educator, and researcher, currently serving as Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Architecture. With a background in both architectural design and theory, her work explores the intersections of technology, media, and politics in the built environment. Ratoi’s research focuses on the aesthetics of power, surveillance, and virtuality, with a strong interest in critical and speculative design. She has practiced internationally and exhibited in venues across Europe and Asia. Passionate about challenging conventional narratives, Ratoi integrates digital tools with philosophical inquiry, encouraging experimental approaches to architecture. Her contributions continue to shape emerging discourses in design and architectural pedagogy.