3 Leg Stool Ash

Inspired by tradition, this Ash 3 Leg Stool echoes the original models once crafted from broken ox-cart wheels — the source of its shape.
As well as being aesthetically unique, it’s also practical: it stays stable, even on uneven ground.

The 3 Leg Stool were once characteristic of some areas of Beira, especially Almeida. Their unique design is related to everyday farming life. It was from the wheels of ox carts that the pieces of wood were cut and extracted, which were then used to make the bulk of the furniture, simply by adding three ash branches, the region’s most resistant indigenous wood.

As well as being aesthetically original, the bench was functional, since regardless of the irregularity of the surface, it never wobbled. The piece of furniture was even featured in the most renowned book on Portuguese vernacular architecture, O inquérito à Arquitectura Popular em Portugal (1961).

Redesigned by architect Samuel Pinto, it combines the quality of the craftsmanship with the value of the design that today evokes the collective imagination of Beira Interior.