Fourteen individual tabletop sections represent the fourteen leaders who gather around it. Each person has a defined place, while every section is directed toward the same central focal point. The circular form encourages open discussion, provides clear sightlines between participants and supports presentations and global video conferencing without obstruction.

The tabletop was created from fourteen hand-matched sections, all milled from the same recovered ancient swamp kauri tree. The timber brings a sense of time, place and provenance to the boardroom, with a GPS location tag linking the finished piece back to the source location of the timber.

Much of the table’s complexity is intentionally unseen. A concealed steel structure supports the generous timber overhang, allowing the kauri edge to taper to a refined profile and giving the substantial table an unexpected visual lightness.

AV, power, ventilation and cable management are integrated within the base, with no visible cable trays, plugs or technology penetrations interrupting the tabletop. Access has been carefully considered so the systems can be maintained and adapted as technology evolves.

Korowai brings together contemporary design, traditional timber craftsmanship, precision engineering and integrated technology in a piece shaped around the act of gathering — bringing people into equal relation and giving an ancient New Zealand material an enduring role in collaboration and decision-making.

Photography: Biddi Rowley