Isokon Occasional Table

Isokon Occasional Table originally designed by Walter Gropius in 1936 during his period as ‘Controller of Design’ at Isokon. The occasional table was the only item designed by Gropius to reach production - with twelve copies made. Of the twelve, three were sold and the rest were bombed during WWII. For years, Jack Pritchard was unsuccessful in his attempts to trace the three surviving tables, until he discovered one still in the possession of the original buyer. In 1985, this single table was gifted to the Isokon Archive. Whilst the original drawings were never found, Isokon Plus and VG&P visited the Sainsbury’s Centre to take measurements directly from the original design which was made from birch plywood with a Rexine top: a material little used today with its production ceasing in 2005. Reissued in 2022 to coincide with the launch of Phaidon's publication, Walter Gropius: An Illustrated Biography, today it is made from birch plywood with a black linoleum top.