8 Decidedly Different Benches to Sit On

Just a few yards from my home, a municipal walking trail crosses the river on a refurbished old bridge set aside just for pedestrians. Many cities and towns are seeing the value in providing sidewalks and trails to encourage walking, and a place to sit and rest makes it easier for folks to get into the walking routine -and benches in public spaces encourage socializing as well. Outdoor benches can also be works of art, whether for the public, the privacy of your back yard, or in a museum. Here's a roundup of some recent innovations in sitting benches.

1. Push That Button!

This bench is for sitting, but it's also a real light switch! The work is called "Zet die knop om!" which translates to "Push that button!" The bench itself lights up when the switch is pushed. The statement it makes is about the responsibility we all have to conserve energy, and the hope is that people will use the light when needed, and switch it off when they leave. This arty bench was designed by Dutch studio HIK Ontwerpers in 2008 and exhibited in the public spaces of Utrecht and Amsterdam.

2. Chesterfield

Park benches are usually designed to withstand the elements, vandals, and children. In contrast, Dutch designer Joost Goudriaan built an outdoor bench in Rotterdam that's all luxury. This Chesterfield bench features tufted genuine leather upholstery for style and beauty. How long will it last? Dutch vandals may stop and think before destroying a bench that practically begs you to sit on it and relax.   

3. Truck Tailgate

Kathi Borrego and her husband value the ability to turn junk into useful objects. They built a bench using the tailgate of an old Chevrolet pickup truck that had been in the family for many years. The truck was falling apart, but a piece of it lives on. Read about the process of building the bench at her blog.

4. Books

This bench, photographed by DeviantART member Funnysock, is found in Berlin. It's a lovely picture, and a nice idea for recycling, but just think of the mildew and possible critters housed in this stack of paper.

5. Chair+Chair=Bench

Korean designer Jiwon Choi designed a bench that might be used in the movie Inception. On first look, it seems to be useful in a gravity-free situation only. But it's called "Chair+Chair=Bench." The two chairs can be used from either end (although not both at the same time) to conserve space, and the structure can be laid on its "front" to be used as a bench. Photograph by Andrew Haarsager. 

6. Huge Sudeley Bench

Pablo Reinoso designed the Huge Sudeley Bench. It consists of swirling steel bars that form arty abstract loops at each end with a real sitting bench in the middle. The nine-meter long bench was commissioned as part of an exhibit of seating outside Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England in 2010, after which it was auctioned off. Photograph by Pablo Reinoso Studio.

7. Modified Social Benches

Danish designer Jeppe Hein built a series of public benches for the coastal town of De Haan in Belgium. Called "Modified Social Benches," the basic design resembles normal park benches, but each is altered in a way that makes sitting on them a challenge of sorts. The aim is to make the user more conscious of the space and the act of sitting on a bench. They also invite conversation by subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) skewing reality. See more pictures here.

8. Polymorphic

Although it is supposed to be outdoor seating, the kinetic interactive bench called Polymorphic may as well be a playground! Made of 119 linked sections, the bench moves and molds its shape to your weight. Put pressure on one section, and the adjoining sections move as well to create a shape conforming to your body. Polymorphic was designed by seven students at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture. See videos of the bench in action and under construction at the project site.

Bonus: Invasion of the Park Bench

As long as we are thinking about park benches, let's see a couple of slightly-malfunctioning robots try to take over the world. Or maybe, due to their size and the fact that there's only two of them, just the local park bench.