Coco Bench

Year: 2023
Project Type: Professional, Made in Earth Collective
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Exhibition: Dubai Design Week


The Coco Bench, a collaboration with Bram Woodcrafting Studio, reimagined the familiar coconut timber from a region abundant in coconut plantations, transforming it into a striking new form. Sourced and milled by Georg Leuzinger, this dense, fibrous, and challenging wood was expertly crafted into a refined piece at Bram’s workshop in Mysore.

Coconut wood (Cocos nucifera) is rarely used to create fine furniture, mainly due to the difficulty of processing it. Achieving the standardized planks needed for furniture production also results in significant wastage, making it more common in informal construction. The Coco Bench was designed as a piece of respite for visitors at Dubai Design Week, offering a place to pause, reflect, and share.

For ease of transport from Bangalore to Dubai, the bench was designed to be flat-pack. Each component highlights a different aspect of the wood: the legs and framework are meticulously processed to reveal the unique reddish-purple wood grain, while the top is crafted from carefully selected raw coconut planks with exposed bark.