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Henge Outdoor Ping Pong Tables: Making a Concrete Contribution to Society

By Rain Noe - June 2, 2011

in Object Culture | Social Impact

Whenever I've brought visitors to New York to the esplanade at Battery Park, they're always surprised to see there are outdoor pool tables there. You provide ID at the nearby NYC Department of Parks & Recreation office and they lend you the balls and sticks.

Now a company called Henge is producing concrete ping pong tables that are also seeking uptake by NYC's DPR. Both Roosevelt Island and Fort Tryon Park have orders in for the tables, and Henge has donated one to Tompkins Square Park.

The tables aren't light—they weigh from 2,300 to 2,800 pounds—and are shipped, unassembled, from their production site in Michigan to their final destination via truck, train, and/or ocean freight. Not exactly an easy product to make and seel, but Henge is on a mission with social goals that trump financial ones:

We see the table as a singular way to bring a vigorous sport that's already well-loved to parks, schools and public spaces, as well as backyards. The table promotes fitness and social interaction. But it can also channel private resources to financially challenged parks and schools. HENGE helps corporations, organizations, and individuals donate tables to parks, schools, and other institutions.

[The table is intended to serve] both as a bridge for new capital and a way for generous donors to show how their involvement and interest in their own community. In other words, parks and schools get free tables. Kids and adults of all ages get to play a fantastic new outdoor game. And a community reads a plaque that names a donor—whether corporation or individual or in between—for their distinctive, engaging, highly original support.

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brian

13 years ago

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How much is this? I'm considering it.

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Jomy

13 years ago

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This is nothing new. HENGE has however raised the bar.
I think the real point of the video is to show how strong and durable the table is.
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Kyle Freund

13 years ago

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Living in Bonn Germany and there are concrete ping-pong tables in public parks everywhere. Happy to see this hitting home.
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Jeff

13 years ago

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The video is about the artistry of the whole thing, what a great table!
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grandpa

13 years ago

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concrete pingpong tables exsist since decades in europe and are a standart in highschools all over our continent.
just felt to mention it.
example: http://www.oeserschule-leipzig.de/bilder/schulchronik/piktogramme/tischtennisplatte.jpg

pooltables on the other hand...would be quite nice!
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john

13 years ago

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What is up with the video on their site? The family is dancing around the table? Shouldnt it be a video of a table in a park with people playing ping pong?
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