Private Public Bench was my final project in Bezalel (2006). The research question behind this project was how to find privacy in public area, using objects.
Adding a hinge to each beam of the public bench allows them to rotate and mark a separate seating space. At the same time, the rotation of the beams allows new ways of interaction around the bench, such as making a space for a group meeting of up to twenty people on one single bench.
The design retains the familiar form of a classic bench, which only increases people’s surprise in discovering its new functionality as the beams spread apart.
