Yes! Concrete Can Be Charming: The Double Tee Table Recasts a Classic Form

Photos by Gabriel Nuer

Concrete has long suffered from a bit of an identity problem: the darling of brutalists, yet rarely invited to sit politely in a well-appointed interior. It seems the Double Tee Table Collection might help fixi that PR issue, without sanding down concrete’s edge entirely.

Designed by MANOS, the product atelier of Concreteworks, and multidisciplinary design firm STRANG, the table line is a translation of the double tee beam, a structural element most famously championed by midcentury architect Gene Leedy. No one knows this better than STRANG founder Max Strang, who grew up in a Leedy-designed home.

“He used it almost every chance he could, designing scores of residences, office buildings, banks, and civic buildings with the double tee," Max explains. "He even designed a fraternity house with double tees that spanned nearly 70 feet in length.”   

And since turning a 70-foot structural system into something you’d place your coffee on requires a bit of finesse, MANOS stepped in to make sure everyone knew that this material actually thrives on collaboration (despite its cold-shoulder history).

“Small shifts in mix, curing, or finishing can produce meaningful variation in tone, texture, and porosity,” explains Joseph Lynch, MANOS head of product. “That variability is where the character lives.”

And it’s what makes these tables actually usable in a design-forward space: the softening of the form. The radial curves and hand-troweled finishes temper the rigidity of the original beam, creating something that feels surprisingly approachable. It’s still concrete, but it’s not yelling about it.

In commercial settings, that balance is the real selling point. Available in four sizes and muted tones like sand, fog, hurricane, and chalk, the collection toes a careful line between collectible design and functional object. The tables carry enough architectural presence to anchor a hotel lobby or office common area or reside at home, poolside or indoors. And they invoke enough tactility to invite interaction—yes, even touch. Imagine that!

See the Double Tee Table Collection in person this week at NYCxDESIGN. If you can, stop by for brunch at the collection launch party on May 17 at 11 a.m. if you can! 

RSVP here for the NYCxDESIGN event at the Modulightor Building at 246 E. 58th St., on the second floor.

—AnnMarie Martin