Flavigny table, 1942
The table base, comprising four diagonally positioned bent steel legs, joined by support tubing for the top, made its appearance during the War as part of a design project for the Solvay company at Dombasle. Unlike the other dining table developed at the same time—the S.A.M., with its crosspiece—the angled legs were vertical and protruded ostensibly beyond the top. Their tapering shape was similar to that used for the office tables being produced at the same period. Designed to hold a wooden tabletop, the upper structure was composed of welded round or square tube forming a rectangular frame. For heavier tops it could be reinforced with a bent steel, central beam; as was done for the Comblanchien limestone model and the thick glass top specially made for Dr Vichard in 1944. The first few examples were supplied to the observation sanatorium at Flavigny in 1945, whence the name of the later model, produced in small batches. This model, as a rule, had an artificial Granito stone top, red or white in color1 and set on a rectangular, round tube frame and a sheet steel table base. In 1951 the Flavigny no. 504 table was marketed with a round-tube double-Y frame and a wooden top covered with plastic or aluminum.
1. The original tops have often been lost, as their friable material had low resistance to impacts and bending stress. Some were replaced by a model made in the 1970s, recognizable by the texture of its aggregate stone and the difference in its profile and thickness