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Strange bench found in Basel.

This bench is constructed in a seemingly classical way by using two casted iron parts left and right to mount the seat and backrest on. But especially the backrest is almost not usable because it is a) so thin and wobbly and b) mounted not on but through the metal pieces so you can only lean on it between the metal pieces, making the bench smaller than it is. What I like though is the angle of the two planks to sit on; It is creating a bowl-feeling while just using straight pieces.

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“Bench” found on the Rhine in Basel. 

This extremely long bench is made entirely from stone/concrete/cement and attached to the sidewall. Depending on the water level it is possible to sit there like on the picture, sit on it with your feet in the water or not sit on it at all because it is covered with water. Visually or in terms of construction/material it is not at all what I am aiming for but I like the space and dimensions because both are exceptional.

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Ring, Studio Bouroullec, Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein.

Seeing it for the first time (in reality, not the internet) was a very nice experience. 

I am quite amazed how they managed to turn something which is basically just a metal ring around a tree and therefore quite common already (see last picture, Stuttgart Königsstraße) in something very poetic and inviting by changing the scale and proportions. It is very nice to sit on it, too.

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work in progress. 

(wood is way too thick etc.)  But I like the idea of having backrest and seat L-shaped.

On the top this enables using it as an armrest or additional seat, on the seat its comfortable for the backside of the legs to have some support when leaning back.

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I found an Italian company which is producing machines and tools for achieving all kinds of cuts into tubes and profiles via laser.

http://www.blmgroup.com/it/lasertube

This could be a way to produce the metal frame for the bench.

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bench in Weil am Rhein, Germany. 

In terms of material combination it is something quite common, but how it is resolved in the details is very cool. The frame consists of two bent tubes, one for the backrest, one for the seat which both “meet” to form the legs together. 

The surface is a perforated metal sheet that was bent to form a seat and “wrapped” around the tube-frame. So you can still see the frame, creating a nice line along the edge of this bench. 

Also from the front view the bench looks a bit more dynamic because the backrest is a bit more narrow than the seat. Quite elegant and a more contemporary take on bent-tube+metal grid than e.g. the example before.

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very minimal benches in Stuttgart, Germany. 

flat sheets of at least 10mm thick steel serve as legs, thick wooden planks are the seat. Interesting about it are the proportions. The depth of the seat is at least 800mm, enabling people to sit on it from both sides without touching each others backs. 

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large wooden seating architecture inside of a school yard in Stuttgart, Germany.

The block on top could be used either as a backrest or to sit higher. 

This type of sitting high on the backrest and placing the feet on the part that is initially intended as the seat is very common among kids and young people because it is quite comfortable to plant your feet a bit higher than usual. This is a quality I would like to implement to my design as well.

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seen in Stuttgart, Germany. 

Bent tubes, covered with a grid. 

Very common in terms of typology and material (and color in this case) 

What I find interesting is that it is a single seat-module which was arrayed in a row to create a bench for two. They then share one pair of legs in the middle. So there is are two kinds of connecting-clamps that are used to fix the seat on the legs. One for the outer side , where the seat-tube is perfectly on the leg-tube and one for the inner side, where the leg-tube is fixed underneath and between two seat-tubes.  The bench on the right is bent to the left completely, probably it was hit by a truck/car or is due to vandalism. 

The modularity is quite clever, but still I think its a perfect example for very rational and cold public furniture.

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seen in Stuttgart, Germany.  I believe this half-spherical stone is meant to serve only as a bollard because it is too low to sit on. But the shape is very nice I think, looks almost like a drop of water. 

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single metal seats screwed on a  stone retaining wall in front of a concert hall in Stuttgart, Germany. 

These bent steel tube +grid seats seemed very weird to me since they are add-ons to allow people to sit on this wall. But even without them it would be possible to sit there. So I though of reasons for installing the metal seats.

First Firstly the wall might be a bit too low for especially older people to comfortably sit down and stand up again. The metal seat adds about 10cm of height. While younger people have less doubts when utilizing public spaces, older people might not see a plain wall as something to sit on. Unless it becomes clearly readable that it is OK to take a seat here, which this solution is achieving quite well I believe. Another funny detail is that the seats are arranged in either groups of two or single seats. 

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public seating landscape in front of the University building in Stuttgart, Germany.

large cylindrical seats casted from cement/concrete. They have different heights creating a visually dynamic array. 

Interesting detail is the straight cut along the outer seats, defining the edge of the rectangular space they are in. The surfaces are slightly curved with a round edge, stopping rainwater to form a puddle and creating an image which reminds me of smooth stones inside of a creek that have been rounded by the force of the moving water. Usually concrete public furniture creates a rather brutal, harsh atmosphere but in this case I think it is a very inviting place to rest.

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Idea for a construction which is inspired by traditional wooden benches but applied to metal. Only the seat and the backrest are supposed to be from wood in reality; the structure underneath I imagine in steel tubes. Drilling/cutting a hole and the cutouts for seat and backrest in it, push the smaller tube through and weld around the pipe on both sides where it comes out.

I am working on the precise 3D-file to show how it looks like in detail. 

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I asked a company for their prices for 200mm welded steel pipes, 5mm thickness. They only sell amounts over 1 ton, and for 1 ton  (which is 38meters of pipe) it costs 600-1000€, depending on the precision/quality. Since the quality does not necessarily have to be so precise it can be quite cheap, with a meter price of 26€. (one bench~1 meter of pipe)

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old couple enjoying the view of the lake on a bench.