Artek Aalto extendable table 97, birch

Artek’s extendable table 97 is Alvar Aalto’s timeless design from 1956. The main material of the rectangular dining table is solid birch. The table measures 53.15 in (135 cm) in length without the extension piece, and when the extension piece is added, it extends to a total length of 74.8 x 0 in (190 x cm. cm). The extension piece is stored separately.

Artek tables are based on different combinations of Alvar Aalto’s L-legs and tabletops. Aalto introduced the bent L-leg for the first time in 1933, and it became a standard component in his furniture designs. Judging his importance as a designer and architect, Aalto considered the development of the L-leg as his greatest achievement – he even called the L-leg “the little sister of the architectonic column”. The development of the L-leg was revolutionary because it solved the problem of attaching legs directly to the tabletop in a completely new way – the leg could be fastened with screws directly to the tabletop, and the result was a simple but very solid structure.