| Park benches are found in cities all over the world, with little variation in form, function, or materiality. These items tend to be so banal that they often go unnoticed and unused by the people for whom they are "designed". As such, they offer little value to the urban environment in both visual and physiological terms. This project is a study of the 'park bench' in the urban environment. It looks at the social and architectural roles seating has had in various landscapes throughout history and discusses notions of place specificity and the generic in urban environments. It is an exploration of new possibilities for public outdoor seating. Both global and local urban conditions are studied as well as standard design and placement issues such as microclimate, human anatomy, psychology, sociology, durability, and ecological sustainability of materials. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
