Woven wood veneer bathtub inspired by traditional boat-building
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Photo By Tal Engel Design

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Photo By Tal Engel Design

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Photo By Tal Engel Design

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Photo By Tal Engel Design

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Photo By Tal Engel Design

Israeli designer Tal Engel created this unique bathtub from woven bamboo veneer using a process inspired by traditional Vietnamese basket boat building techniques. These boats are made with interwoven bamboo and waterproofed with resin and coconut oil.

Engel says the concept for this project, titled Otaku, is based on the analogy between a basket boat on the ocean and the intimate setting of sitting in a bathtub. "We can simply imagine the bathtub as if it was a boat ‘inside-out’," he says, "which literally means that the inside becomes the outside - the water is inside the boat whereas the structure is outside."

His Otaku bathtub sits in a wire frame made from thin metal profiles. That framework helped Engel solidify the aesthetic design for which he was aiming.

"In order to develop the right design for the bathtub it was necessary to formulate a DNA which would later become the visual identity of the product. One method to do so is building a narrative which derives its elements from the metaphoric world," Engel explains. "The bathtub resembled to me a cherry on the top. An ice tip of a mountain. A diamond on a ring. The bathtub exists as a spiritual essence which is connected to gravity by a logical construction."

To learn more about Engel projects, visit www.talengel.com.

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Michaelle Bradford | Editor

Michaelle Bradford, CCI Media, is Editor of Closets & Organized Storage magazine and Woodworking Network editor. She has more than 20 years of experience covering the woodworking and design industry, including visits to custom cabinet shops, closet firms and design studios throughout North America. As Editor of Closets & Organized Storage magazine under the Woodworking Network brand, Michaelle’s responsibilities include writing, editing, and coordinating editorial content as well as managing annual design competitions like the Top Shelf Design Awards. She is also a contributor to FDMC and other Woodworking Network online and print media owned by CCI Media.