Interview about Six Senses Billiards Table, winner of the A' Limited Edition and Custom Design Award 2025
It is a carrier product design scheme that integrates China's millennium Journey to the West culture, which has been put into the market and depicts six storylines. There are two color schemes available for purchase, gold wire depiction and bronze polishing. After 700 days of material and literature research, 20 art artists adjusted their color schemes and relief designs. This is just a part of its early stages, where modern technology is utilized in the production process to meet the needs of product landing and provide consumers with a visual feast.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThank you to the organizers for recognizing my design. Professional billiards tables must adhere to international standards for dimensions and materials, which inherently constrains design possibilities. For this client, we customized cultural elements aligned with their brand identity by integrating widely beloved Asian mythological narratives. To showcase these epic tales without compromising functionality, we reimagined the six structural side connecting panels—traditionally plain load-bearing boards—as artistic canvases. Each panel features hand-painted scenes from Journey to the West by heritage guardians of classical Chinese painting, with preliminary concepts developed using Midjourney. This transforms structural components into cultural storytellers, celebrating the protagonists’ perseverance while creating spatial artistry for enthusiasts.
Our methodology followed a precision-layering principle: handcrafting for artistic essence, CNC for structural integrity. Master sculptors first created the Buddhist Six Senses reliefs and Ruyi Jingu Bang surface motifs in wax—capturing organic flow impossible through pure digital means. These originals were 3D-scanned to generate optimized CNC toolpaths for mass-producing the rubber wood bases, achieving ±0.1mm joint accuracy. Crucially, we developed a hybrid finishing protocol: CNC-milled components received hand-carved texture enhancement (e.g., dragon scale detailing), while resin-cast reliefs from master molds maintained 98% artistic fidelity at 1/3 the cost of full manual carving.The breakthrough came in material-driven calibration: Glass fiber-reinforced gypsum replicas of hand-sculpted elements were pressure-fused to CNC joints, creating load-bearing art. This reduced assembly time by 40% versus traditional joinery, with stress tests showing 31% higher torsion resistance than all-machine alternatives. By reserving human touch for culturally significant surfaces (e.g., the "intent" inscriptions on columns) and automating structural replication, we preserved soulful craftsmanship while enabling scalable production—proving tradition and technology aren't rivals, but complementary forces in cultural object-making.
Working with mother-of-pearl abalone shells meant tackling two core challenges: preserving their natural iridescence while surviving billiards' physical demands. We addressed this through layered reinforcement—each shell fragment is first laser-cut to 0.8mm thickness for flexibility, then bonded to a resin-saturated bamboo substrate that absorbs impact energy. The real innovation was micro-encapsulation: a clear nano-ceramic coating applied before inlay protects against scratches and moisture without dulling the color shift effect. For high-risk edges near the playing surface, we embedded the shells 1.2mm below the table’s perimeter rail, creating a physical buffer against cue strikes. Rigorous testing showed this approach withstands 200+ hours of gameplay with zero delamination—proving delicate beauty and durability can coexist when traditional materials meet smart engineering.
We integrated cultural symbolism as functional enhancements by anchoring every element to performance needs. The Sea God Needle legs feature reinforced birchwood cores for break-shot resistance, while the 6-8mm reliefs on column capitals avoid pocket interference. Strategically positioned below sightlines during play, these details only become visible when retrieving balls—ensuring players focus solely on ball physics during shots yet discover narrative depth between turns. Crucially, professional testing confirmed uncompromised play: the distinctive click of balls striking wool-cushioned rails and flawless slate-level roll consistency prove spiritual elements can coexist with sporting precision when design respects the game's essence.
Our 700-day process was about editing culture without losing its soul. The initial draft had triple the decorative elements, but playtests showed visual overload distracted players. We scaled back through cycles of collaboration: Buddhist scholars helped distill the Six Senses into essential symbols, while artists sculpted miniature clay reliefs to test depth (6-8mm max for pocket clearance). When traditional painting styles clashed with the table’s form, we nearly replaced scenes with stone textures—until AI analysis of 100+ gongbi variations pinpointed the precise gold/patina balance. The final aesthetic emerged from this push-pull between artisans safeguarding authenticity and digital tools solving real-world constraints, proving restraint honors tradition best.
Winning the A' Design Award validated our core belief: cultural storytelling must serve the product, not dominate it. The jury’s feedback reinforced that restraint is key—like reducing relief heights to 6mm for unobstructed play, or positioning mother-of-pearl inlays where they catch light without interfering with cues. This recognition pushed us to refine our 'culture-through-function' approach: every mythological element now undergoes 'dual testing' with professional players for gameplay integrity and cultural scholars for authenticity. Moving forward, we’re applying this disciplined framework to new projects—proving that when cultural depth enhances rather than interrupts the user experience, it creates truly timeless design.
The gold wire and bronze patina finishes draw direct inspiration from 3,000-year-old Chinese ritual bronzes—specifically the zun vessels’ oxidation layers and ding cauldrons’ inlaid gold motifs. We replicated the organic interaction between bronze corrosion and precious metals through a four-stage process: first applying a green-black base mimicking ancient patina, then hand-brushing gold accents where light naturally hits the table’s edges, much like artisans highlighted ceremonial patterns on bronze artifacts. This duality serves functional purposes too: the matte bronze finish minimizes glare under tournament lighting, while the gold lines guide players’ sightlines toward pockets. In dimly lit spaces, the bronze emanates museum-grade solemnity; in bright settings, the gold detailing activates kinetic energy—proving ancient metallurgy wisdom still shapes modern experiential design.
We preserved artistic integrity by letting handcrafting guide industrialization. Master artisans created the initial wax carvings and painted prototypes—capturing the soul of traditional aesthetics. For commercial production, we 3D-scanned these originals to make precise molds, ensuring every replicated relief retained 98% of the handmade detail. Crucially, we reserved final-stage handwork for irreplaceable touches: gold-wire inlays were still applied manually to maintain organic flow, while CNC-cut components received hand-sanding to revive surface warmth. This hybrid process delivered the unified stability needed for 100+ units monthly without sacrificing the living spirit of the first handmade piece—proving machines can replicate forms, but human hands guard the soul.
This design pioneers a blueprint for meaningful luxury—where sporting equipment transcends utility to become cultural storytelling. We foresee three key shifts: First, narrative-driven aesthetics will replace ornamental excess, as seen in our Six Senses reliefs that honor Buddhist philosophy while reinforcing structural joints. Second, heritage hybrid production (like hand-finished CNC components) will balance artisanal soul with commercial scale. Finally, region-specific mythologies—from Asian epics to Greek legends—will personalize luxury gear, much like our Journey to the West motifs resonate globally. Crucially, success hinges on authentic integration: every element must enhance performance, as our patinated bronze finish minimizes glare while evoking 3,000-year-old bronzes. The future isn’t just about premium materials, but depth of cultural experience woven into functional design.
We maintained tournament-grade performance by prioritizing core components proven over a century of billiards heritage. The playing bed combines Jiujiang bluestone slabs—renowned for flawless flatness across international championships—with Libratex cloth from China’s leading mill, minimizing friction for true ball trajectories. Crucially, all decorative elements (carvings, inlays) were confined to non-playing zones, while the impact-critical rails feature precision steel cushions that deliver the distinctive click upon ball contact. This disciplined separation—functional integrity from artistic expression—ensures zero compromise: the stone’s inertia stabilizes rolls, the cloth’s weave optimizes speed, and steel’s resonant properties create that crisp acoustic signature. Elaborate artistry frames the game but never interrupts its physics.
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