Urban Chair is a design competition with the aim of developing innovative and interactive prototypes for seaters/benches/modules that can be placed in a park, street, plaza or any other kind of outdoor socio-urban zone. Urban furniture is the link between a public space and the people encapsulated within. Community seaters are the catalyst for public interaction as they create a setting for sitting, resting and other similar activities. They are responsible for drawing people together and starting the process of interaction and dialogue.
Street Furniture is an important tool for creating a sense of identity and place making. Effective and quality furniture in a public setup creates an intrinsic relationship between people and urbanscape. Industrial zeitgeist and its mass production methods have eliminated the ‘”design” from the process of creating new furniture. Though it helped in creating a sense of continuity at a macro level, street furniture became obsolete, bleak and rigid.
The competition invites designers to create dynamic furniture to be placed in zones of social and public exchange. The product should be more than just a sitting module and offer multiple ways for users to interact with it. It should become an important symbol for the zone and stimulate greater social interaction among the people. There are no specific area/volumetric constraints and the intervention can be a single bench for a couple of users, cluster of individual seaters or a larger module that can accommodate multiple people (depending on the participant’s narrative). The furniture should be fun and interactive for people, allowing them a sense of customization of the space. It may also be able to a host other auxiliary activity like mild relaxation, resting, eating etc. The furniture should be considered as a piece of public art and have a sculptural value to it.
