This feature is all made with reclaimed wood salvaged from Georgian Bay. It contains Red & White Oak, Black Ash and Maple Walnut. The darker wooden posts on the outside of the pergola represent the outside of a tree and the wood gets progressively lighted as you move into the centre of the pergola to represent the inside of a tree. Situated around various areas of the pergola is another layer of the story which involves beam support from repurposed discarded furniture elements. A history of furniture design moves from north to south. Starting with traditional forms including a Thonet Chair found on the curb, and a century old walnut table leg, we move along the pergola and find mid-century pieces skewed and bolted for structure and form. Designs by Charles and Ray Eames, Danish designers Arne Vodder and Kai Kristiansen and Canadian designer Russell Spanner. The centre posts were peeled away and curved up into the beams, a nod to Alvar Alto and his groundbreaking work with wood in the 1940s.
The south end of the pergola moves into post-modern ideas as we reinterpret some of our own work with discarded limbs from a city elm tree mixed with the work of contemporary British designer Matthew Hilton. These repurposed elements are taken out of context and exude new forms when used differently than intended. Most of these pieces had lost their usefulness, being too worn or broken by their original use, and have been brought back to life with a new purpose. The Brother's Dressler have also designed a smaller pergola for our patio which will be a permanent feature here too.