Aluminum Bench is a versatile seating system which can be specified for interior and exterior applications.
Impetus:
One of the challenges of planning a site is to design and specify furnishings that will fit within the constraints of the project’s programming. If a product doesn’t physically fit within your constraints, or if the product doesn’t match geometries of its boundaries, you are forced to either change your design to meet the products specified or to find another product entirely.
When applied to seating, we found that there was a general lack of versatility in seating options. If a designer wants a curving bench which matches the profile of a landscape feature, there are no options which give the designer the power to specify a seating system as such.
This is where Aluminum Bench excels.
Aluminum Bench enables designers to specify not only the length of the seating system but also its shape. Infinite configurations are possible. Want a fifty foot bench? No problem. Want a bench which curves around and follows the contours of your landscape? It’s as simple as a few clicks.
Designers customize their bench on the website, which provides a familiar 3D modeling interface with simple drag and drop elements to tweak the shape, color, and length of the bench. Through this intuitive online experience, designers can quickly specify the dimensions of the bench.
The bench is made using 100% aluminum parts: its legs are cast aluminum, its seat is made with an aluminum honeycomb core and its profiled edge is made using an aluminum extrusion that Zahner originally designed for use on complex curvilinear building facades. Aluminum Bench comes in both black and white models, coated with a UV and scratch resistant powder coating.
The product first began taking shape after Olivares was invited to Zahner to tour the plant’s manufacturing capabilities. Zahner is known for fabricating unique sculptural buildings made in metal, including many by Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Herzog & de Meuron, and other architects of high esteem. As a result of these many collaborations, Zahner has developed a wide array of architectural components for building.
During his visit, Jonathan Olivares discovered one such component. He came across a bucket of extrusions used to create the ribbed structures used on these curvilinear facades. Olivares found that this component had a refined, tactile nature — perfect for the edge of a seat. From this component, the Aluminum Bench was born. These extrusions provide the profile edge of the Aluminum Bench seating system.
Website: http://www.azahner.com/bench
Designer: Jonathan Olivares
Year of the start of manufacturing: 2015
Product description text:
