DAIKAN at DESIGNART: FLUX TABLE and illuminated branch furniture
Sign-making craft becomes a reflective tabletop; branches and lighting offcuts become tables and stools. DAIKAN’s AUTOBAHN presentation ends November 3.
A mirrored tabletop seems to ripple above a precise, densely patterned frame. Nearby, another furniture series leaves its branches exposed, weaving white light tubes through them. This contrast offers a useful way into DAIKAN’s DESIGNART TOKYO 2026 presentation: one project gives hard metal an apparently soft surface, while the other turns leftovers from urban pruning and manufacturing into furniture. Both are shown at AUTOBAHN on Ginza’s former KK expressway through November 3. Do not mistake November 8, the end date for the wider festival, for this presentation’s final day.
FLUX TABLE contrasts reflective aluminium tops with continuous-frame bases. Official product image, not a photograph of the Ginza exhibition.
Start with the surface, then follow the supporting lines
FLUX TABLE, developed by DAIKAN and Japanese design brand 130 (ONE THIRTY), is not a table made of flowing liquid metal. Its FLUX METAL™ top uses the cross-section of layered aluminium, hand-polished to a mirror finish. Light and viewing angle create the water-like appearance. Below it, a three-dimensional continuous-frame structure is designed and manufactured by 130.
In the supplied photographs, the reflective top and dense frame follow different rhythms: the surface picks up surrounding images, while the base retains identifiable, repeating lines. One way to look is to follow a reflected edge before moving down to the support, noticing how apparent instability coexists with structural order. This is a viewing suggestion based on official images, not a firsthand visit or load-bearing test.
Sign-making becomes the subject, not the background
Founded in 1964, DAIKAN specialises in signs for commercial environments. FLUX TABLE redirects that metalworking expertise towards furniture; it was already presented during Milan Design Week in April 2026. This is its Tokyo showing, not the work’s first unveiling.
The interesting shift goes beyond a sign manufacturer making a table. Techniques normally used to shape another brand’s visual impression become the object of attention themselves. In the process photograph, hands, a polishing tool and reflected figures occupy the same surface, giving the finish a tangible manufacturing context rather than only a futuristic aesthetic.
A brand-supplied process photograph shows a polishing tool, hands and their reflections in the metal surface.
Branch furniture keeps light within the structure
The new Re: Lumiere Branch Furniture is a collaboration between DAIKAN and Green Wise, combining urban pruning branches, lighting offcuts and wooden tops or seats. DAIKAN handles the overall design and lighting technology; Green Wise sources and prepares the branches and assembles them with the lighting offcuts.
According to the brand, the offcuts come from its heat-formable Lumi Tube lighting material. Official images show white illuminated sections threaded among irregular branches rather than hidden behind a casing. The tall table and stools do not simply place a lamp beside wooden furniture: illumination is part of the object’s overall visual composition.
The listed high-table dimensions are 900 mm in diameter and 890 mm high; the stool measures 400 mm in diameter and 570 mm high. The brand calls the approach “regenerative”, but the public material provides no comparative carbon figures, recycled-content percentage or complete life-cycle assessment. Reuse of offcuts can be discussed; zero-carbon, fully recycled or proven environmental superiority cannot be claimed.
Re: Lumiere Branch Furniture combines branches, lighting offcuts and wooden tops or seats in a high table and stools; the right panel shows a structural detail.
An old elevated road adds another layer
AUTOBAHN occupies the former KK expressway in Ginza. DESIGNART’s venue introduction says the road ended its role as a vehicle-only route in 2025 and is scheduled to evolve in stages into pedestrian-oriented public space.
Seen alongside the two furniture projects, the setting raises a shared question: how can established techniques, leftover materials and urban spaces acquire new uses? That is an editorial interpretation, not a claim that the objects and road redevelopment have equivalent environmental benefits. It also does not mean visitors may freely enter the elevated road at any time.
Separate exhibition dates, opening hours and last admission
DAIKAN’s stand is Exhibition1-④ at the KK line around Ginza-nishi 2-2, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, between the Sukiyabashi intersection and Ginza-itchome. The presentation runs October 30–November 3, 2026. All times below are Japan local time: generally 10:00–19:00, opening at 12:00 on October 30 and closing at 17:00 on November 3. The brand additionally lists last admission at 18:00 on regular days and 16:00 on the final day.
The main venue is ticketed, not free. ArtSticker is the official sales destination, but current ticket prices and remaining capacity could not be verified in this check. We therefore give neither an estimated price nor a guarantee of admission. The official exhibition page still advertises advance sales ending October 29 at 23:59; that deadline has passed and must not be presented as a current early-bird offer. If Tokyo is already on your itinerary, check the official admission arrangements before setting out. This article is not a ticket-purchase or international-travel recommendation.
Questions before visiting
Does FLUX TABLE actually flow?
No. The official explanation concerns a visual effect created by polished aluminium, light and viewpoint—not liquefaction or mechanical motion.
Are both furniture projects the same collaboration?
No. FLUX TABLE pairs DAIKAN with 130; the branch furniture pairs DAIKAN with Green Wise.
Does the display run until November 8?
The AUTOBAHN main venue hosting DAIKAN ends on November 3. Other festival venues have separate dates.
Can visitors buy, sit on or touch the furniture?
The checked information does not confirm prices, available stock or permission to sit or touch. Follow on-site instructions rather than treating a display as furniture open for use.
