geometric ping pong tables stand as interactive public sculptures inside park in france

sculptural ping pong tables show up in park in france

Architecture and design agency Exercice installs four geometric ping pong tables in Ingré, France, serving as interactive public sculptures to the nearby residents. Commissioned by the Région Centre-Val de Loire, each design comes in a different shape and surface geometry, resulting in a playful collection of functional tables. While they’re different in the forms, they share the same stainless steel legs that taper outward at the base and anchor into circular floor plates bolted to the ground. 

The leg configuration of the sculptural ping pong tables change depending on the surface shape, but the material and the anchoring method are the same. The playing surfaces are finished in solid color in muted coral pink, pale blue, white, and teal green, each one coated with a matte surface treatment. A perforated metal net runs across the center of the tables, too, made from a metal sheet punched with a grid of circular holes.

all images courtesy of Exercice

A series of multipurpose, interactive public sculptures 

Individually, the sculptural ping pong tables show up in whimsical forms. The teal green table has a triangular plan and a folded surface. One half of the playing area is flat and horizontal while the other half rises at an angle from the center net. The net between the two halves is the same perforated metal format as the others, but it sits at the center of a surface where the two sides are not mirror images of each other. The legs on this table are more numerous than on the others, as having six legs support the weight distribution of the two angled planes better. The white table has an oval plan with a hole cut through the playing surface near one end, creating a circular opening in the table. It creates a zone where a ball can fall through the table rather than bounce back. 

The pink hexagonal table and the pale blue oval table each bring further variations: the hexagon introduces a third side and a third net position, which changes the number of players the table can accommodate from two to three. The oval removes corners entirely, shifting how balls behave when they travel toward the table’s edge. The agency says that the rules evolve according to the players who invent them, hinting that the tables don’t have the traditional instructions of use. In this way, the surfaces can also serve as a gathering place, allowing non-players to join the competing ones for a chat around the sculptural ping pong tables before the game begins.

commissioned by the Région Centre-Val de Loire, each design comes in a different shape and surface geometry

the tables share the same stainless steel legs that taper outward at the base and anchor into circular floor plates

a perforated metal net runs across the center of the tables, too

design agency Exercice installs four geometric ping pong tables in Ingré, France

project info:

name: Ping Pong Park

agency: Exercice | @_exercice_

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