We wanted to combine the flexibility of the Periodic Table (from Stanford's d.school) with the resilience of a work bench that allowed us to push creative boundaries in our space. 

Construction was simple and cheap.  We took the existing Periodic Table (sans worktop), reinforced the legs and storage space and then joined two together with an IKEA Varde worktop.

The result?  A hardy work bench that can be configured in a variety of ways.  Now to give it a beating and see how it holds up.