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Strata of Silence
2025
36 x 70 cm
Concrete, sand, lava, and aggregates
Strata of Silence is a pair of barstools, each conceived as a vertical archive — a column of sedimented time. Cast in successive layers of concrete, sand, lava, and other raw aggregates, they echo the geological and psychological processes through which trauma, history, and adaptation accumulate within us and beneath the surface of the city. The cylindrical form — modest, stable, elemental — recalls both the core samples extracted from the earth and the pillars that sustain architecture. Each stratum becomes a metaphor for a period, a wound, or a fragile balance between collapse and reconstruction. The contrasts of materials, colors, and textures evoke shifting decades and shifting emotions: the roughness of war, the ash of aftermath, the weight of endurance, the dust of forgetting. As companions to The Wounded Wall, the stools offer a place of pause and meditation. They transform the act of rest into reflection. Strata of Silence pays homage to resilience — not as erasure, but as layering, as the subtle art of living with what remains. Ultimately, the work reaffirms that the city, like the human psyche, is composed of strata — each carrying within it the weight and the wisdom of survival.
Founded by Gilbert Debs and Claudia Chahine, Opus Magnum Studio is distinguished by its rigorous investigation of matter, its seamless integration of craft and design, and its commitment to bespoke production. Operating from their Beirut workshop, the two founders conceive, engineer and hand-cast each piece themselves, controlling every stage from material formulation to finishing, and thus creating works that transcend the boundaries between furniture, sculpture and architecture. Gilbert brings over three decades of R&D experience: his signature innovation lies in combining disparate materials—metals, mineral aggregates, resins, glass and wood—so that each retains its inherent nature while giving rise to unexpected textures, patinas and structures. Through her background in interior design, Claudia translates these material explorations into forms and narratives: her design language is rooted in archaeology, place, heritage and nature. Their output spans monumental installations, custom furniture editions and highly curated surface systems for luxury interiors. Their works illustrate their commitment to ecological, social awareness, material truth and handcrafted singularity. With over two decades of commissions for international designers, architects and collectors, Opus Magnum Studio remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what raw matter can become.