#HTE

The Trestle Hito: Cast Iron Connectors, Oak Dowels

German industrial designer Ludwig Kaimer designed this handsome Trestle Hito, composed of five oak dowels and two cast-iron connectors:

The connector is designed to be cast in a two-part mold. “The layout of the excavations follows the angles of the legs,” writes Kaimer, “yet creates an original independent structure.”

The limitations of a two-part mold require the connectors to attach to the dowels via projections, meaning the dowels must be precisely drilled along their long axis. A more complicated mold might allow the user to slide undrilled dowels inside on their own, meaning the connectors could be sold on their own; but this would make the connector bulky, and I really like how Kaimer’s designed it to match the diameter of the dowels.

“In a pair of two together with a tabletop, the trestles serve as a desk,” Kaimer writes. “As a solitary object it’s a decent and sculptural valet.”