Kitchen Island Cantilever

Inform studio is in the process of fabricating a custom kitchen in a building on 5th Ave. and 9th street for B-Space architecture . The design incorporates an island which wraps an existing steel column. As so often is the case a design idea can arise from a recognition of the inherent problems of the existing space. Here the architect is incorporating the existing column into the design .

To my mind cantilevers are always interesting for they appear to defy the natural law of gravity. This of course is not true.

The weight is distributed with help from structural materials which are often hidden from view. The pivot point could also be moved off center by simply adding more weight at one end. The visual effect when used in a particular context can make even a very large object appear to float.

The Kitchen we are building will have an assembled group of cabinets forming an island . We have buried two by two inch steel tube in the island to support the weight of the counter . A little more than half the total length of the island will be suspended. In addition to drawers and space for a microwave, the island will include a pantry which pulls out of the column cabinet. The pantry door panel has magnets buried into its mitred edge which will help insure a tight closure and keep the illusion of a solid wood column .