If you’ve been to the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor’s Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden you’ve surely noticed the giant log bench and live-edge table that anchor the restaurant. It was three years in the making! Here’s the story:

In 2019, plans were finalized for the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor’s Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The lead local design team, Tao + Lee, pitched to the Garden the idea of reclaiming and repurposing a local tree and turning it into a signature, feature piece for the visitor center -- a giant log bench that would anchor the new restaurant.

The bench would be a reflection of the Garden’s commitment to sustainability and the environment and add to the project’s Gold LEED rating. The team began consulting with the St. Louis Forestry Department, Forest Park, and other entities to source the tree.

As it turned out, to make way for the new center, several trees had to be taken down at the Garden, including an 80-year-old Shumard oak, which met the size and shape criteria of the design team.

In the summer of 2020, Alberici Construction and Tao + Lee invited local woodworkers and arborists to come to the Garden, discuss the project, see the tree, and bid on turning it into the feature piece.

This was not an easy feat: the tree would have to be felled, milled, shaped, sanded, carved, and turned into a functional piece of furniture, all within a tight time frame of 18 months. And it would have to meet design requirements that were both sweeping and strict:

The bench had to be natural in form and shape yet fit within the broader design scope of the new visitor’s center, which was light and airy and modern. The piece was to be the focal point of the restaurant, and it had to be functional, educational, natural, beautiful, and a reflection of MOBOT’s commitment to the environment and sustainability.

A tall order, both in design and execution.

David Stine Furniture is one of very few woodworking companies in the world that is vertically integrated: DSF grows, sustainably harvests, mills, dries, designs, crafts, and delivers all the furniture they make.

In addition, DSF’s commitment to sustainably and their award-winning natural designs positioned them as the obvious choice for the project. They also donated a substantial portion of their fee to the Garden as an in-kind contribution.

We were awarded the contract, and consultations began with Tao + Lee on process and design.

The project began on February 5, 2021, took 18 months, and many steps to produce the finished product:

The Shumard oak came down on Feb. 5, 2021.
It was then transported – 20,000 pounds, 50” in diameter, and 20’ long -- to Meurer Bros. in Belleville for milling under Dave Stine’s supervision.
After the initial milling, the log was rough shaped by hand by Dave Stine.
In order for the log to be shaped into a functional bench, a slab was cut from one side of the log. The slab was 16’ long x 30” wide.
At this point, Tao + Lee lead designer Helen Lee realized that the slab could be used for a communal table for the restaurant, an element that had been designed but not sourced. (Lee contacted the Garden, which in January 2022 approved the addition of this piece.)
After the initial shaping the log and the table slab were dried in a massive vacuum kiln for six weeks.
After the first stage of kiln-drying, the log was shaped again, by hand, by Dave Stine and his team, which included senior craftsman Eli Cronin, shop assistant Javen Heape, and celebrated Ohio wood artist Shon Walters, who specializes in wood sculptures.
After the second shaping process, the log was held in a humidity-controlled environment for six months.
After the final drying process, the log was hand-shaped into the log bench. This last stage took three months and four craftsmen working in stages.
When the shaping was finished, the bench was sanded, sealed, and delivered to the Garden on July 15, 2022.
The dining table was finished and delivered in early August 2022. It took a team of 15 people using special equipment to load the bench into place.
The two pieces anchor the dining area. The bench weighs 5,500 pounds. The community table weighs 500 pounds.

During the 18-month process, the design team from Tao + Lee and officials from the Garden visited the David Stine woodshop to check progress and make minor design adjustments to enhance the beauty of the log. The Hollo family, who donated the funds for the bench, also visited to see the progress. It was a true collaboration between people committed to design and sustainability.

The project was a huge gamble. So much could have gone wrong:

The tree could have been rotten or hollow or had other internal deficiencies that would have rendered it unusable, something that would not have been apparent until after the tree was felled, transported to the mill, milled, and shaped.
The shape of the log could have been too small or undesirable for what the design team wanted.
The drying could have created huge cracks and splits in the log.
The woodworkers could have screwed it up (luckily, Dave Stine and his team are highly skilled). As Helen Lee said: “Dave and Stephanie gave us the confidence that this could be achieved! And they did it!”

We are so proud of this work!

Our Work for the Missouri Botanical Garden