The B02 bench was designed to solve an awkward social problem: it delineates personal space so that anyone who approaches the bench knows they can sit without being forced into conversation with a stranger unless they desire it. As The Scandinavian Design Center's slightly awkward translation puts it, "What if there was way for the bench to let you keep your distance and integrity on days when you felt like it, while allowing you to interact with people at other times? "
Jens Thoms Ivarsson's design consists of a plank bench asymetrically attached to and divided by a blocky U-shaped concrete base. Besides its beauty, its chief selling point is its ability to anticipate and quell social anxiety: sitters can decide whether to sit alone (by plunking down to one side of the concrete divider) or risk sitting next to someone (by grabbing a seat to the other side).
And if you really want someone to get the hint, you pull the bench over so far to your side that they have to sit on that little knot at the end.
pb, does it slide from side to side? That's what I'm guessing too, with the pointy parts. Nobody wants to sit on the pointy parts, but if you pulled it all the way over, what if it tips over?
And if you do decide to sit there, what if it's already sat upon, and there isn't quite enough room to sit on either side, without moving the seat. Do you just walk over and move the seat and the other person sitting there until you can sit down on one side or the other?
Can you just pull really hard and watch the other person splat on the ground? hehehehe.
I think they ought to do a teeter-totter bench. At least then you'd WANT people to sit, so you could have fun while waiting for the bus or watching the world go by. Teeter-totters are just not solo things.
Are teeter-totters still around? They were a valuable learning tool for learning about fulcrums (is that the right word?) and weight distribution. Maybe far too many younger siblings were launched into space via their older counterparts and are now a "safety hazard."
Well, crap to that I say, dry cake mix is a much more serious safety hazard, and I don't see choking and coughing warnings on their labels yet.
Okay, Andree, you made me snort.
re: "Nobody wants to sit on the pointy parts."
No comment.
Andree-
I know you are sometimes criticized for the length of your posts...but that was great...
what is up with the pointy parts??
Explanation...
The "pointy parts" are gone so you can sit without risking getting penetrated. Yes, the wood slides so you can sit three in a row, two in a row or by yourself. The best thing is if there is more then one bench next to eachother. Then you can sit six people in a row or very far from eachother. It does not tilt because the concrete or diabas is fixed in the ground.
/Jens Thoms Ivarsson