Home decorating, interior design ideas, garden design - Homes and Gardens

Jason Heap, 23, graduated from Lincoln University with a first class honours degree in furniture in 2007. Since then he has been commuting between his home in the Isle of Wight and Dorset, gaining experience as a high-quality cabinetmaker.

Jason's winning design, Infinity + 1, is a low circular table (1m in diameter and 36.5cm high), with a thick, clear glass top supported on an incredibly thin twisting ribbon-like timber support that flows round on itself without any apparent beginning or end. It evolved from an earlier design (Infinity), based on three infinity symbols in a ring, hence “+ 1”, as this has four. The base is made from birch aircraft-grade plywood, which has three layers (making it very strong) but is only 0.8mm thick. Jason knife-cuts this by hand into strips that are then laminated into ten identical, arched pieces with a vacuum press and carefully joined together to form the table base. This is veneered, with meticulous mitre joints at each intersection to enhance the organic shape. “I love water,” says Jason, “and this is reflected in the table's flowing form.”

The table support's surprising robustness comes from a fusion of craftsmanship and engineering that exploits the inherent strength of plywood's cross-grained layers. “I wanted to show that wood can make shapes as exciting as those in metal or plastic,” says Jason. He uses four veneers: creamy maple, a darker beige sweet chestnut, straight-grained yew with an orange colour and a rich American black walnut (above). Smaller tables are available.