Silver Street Furniture Design · 2023
Skystation Sculptural Bench
by Peter Newman
- A' Design Award 2023 Silver Winner in Street Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2023
- CLIENT: Peter Newman Studio
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 745,147
- Verification code C6E73AC4C9 · Verify this award
About Skystation Sculptural Bench
Skystation is an interactive sculpture that also provides some public seating. The contours of the work are designed to fit the reclining human form and encourage contemplation of the sky. The seating it provides is similar to what NASA calls Neutral Body Posture, which is the shape the body returns to when free from the influence of gravity. Skystation creates an opportunity for pause, reflection and interaction within the public realm. It is inspired by the modernist idea of form follows function. It has the incidental effect of making conversations between strangers almost inevitable.
Peter Newman's Skystation Sculptural Bench exemplifies the contemporary movement toward integrating sculptural artistry with functional urban infrastructure, representing a thoughtful meditation on how public seating can transcend mere utility to become a catalyst for spatial activation and civic engagement. The work demonstrates remarkable formal intelligence in its adoption of the torus as primary geometric vocabulary, a form that simultaneously references organic natural phenomena such as water droplets and cellular structures while maintaining the precision and material honesty associated with industrial design traditions. The polished stainless steel surface treatment reveals sophisticated understanding of how reflective materials can dematerialize mass while capturing and redistributing ambient light, creating an ever-changing dialogue between the object and its environmental context throughout diurnal cycles. Positioned within a carefully orchestrated urban ensemble that includes brick terracing, mature plantings, and contemporary architecture, the bench functions as a mediating element between the rigid orthogonal geometries of the built environment and the irregular organic forms of the botanical features. The central depression invites multiple modes of occupation, whether solitary contemplation at the rim or small group gathering within the sheltered interior curve, suggesting the designer's awareness of varied social dynamics in public space. The work participates in a distinguished lineage of sculptural seating that includes contributions by Isamu Noguchi, Scott Burton, and contemporary practitioners who have questioned the boundary between art object and functional amenity. The material choice demonstrates environmental consideration through durability, weather resistance, and maintenance efficiency, ensuring long-term contribution to the public realm. Viewers might consider how the reflective surface transforms each visitor into an active participant, their presence temporarily inscribed upon the sculptural form.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Skystation is an interactive sculpture that also provides some public seating. The contours of the work are designed to fit the reclining human form and encourage contemplation of the sky.
The seating it provides is similar to what NASA calls Neutral Body Posture, which is the shape the body returns to when free from the influence of gravity. Skystation creates an opportunity for pause, reflection and interaction within the public realm. Conversations between strangers are almost inevitable. - Dimensions & Packaging
- 4100mm x 4100mm x 675mm
- Tags
- Skystation, sculpture, bench, public art, installation, seating
- Production Technology
- Cast aluminium bronze, brushed satin finish.
Six segments were sand cast and precision cut, to align together on a stainless steel sub-structure. Assembled together on site. - Design Challenge
- To realise the design as a permanent installation required production in a material that would last a long time and was in keeping with the aesthetic of the work.
Aluminium bronze is a material used in the marine environment due to its resistance to corrosion and seems fitting in redeveloped wharf of London.
A golden disk also has a symbolic association with the sun and the sky going back to antiquity.
The colour introduces a warm tone among the cool steel that characterises the district. - Project Duration
- Permanent installation at Canary Wharf, London.
- Operation Flow
- The sculpture can be used for sitting and lying down by up to 12 people. Although designed with adults in mind, children find the most inventive ways to interact with the shape.
- Research
- Real world research was done with life size seating profiles, tested by a large number of volunteers, to be as comfortable as possible to a wide range of people lying down.
The chosen profile was then spun through 360 degrees and refined into a sculpture form.
Fibreglass prototypes of the finished sculpture were installed in various public locations. This has shown the positive impact of introducing an interactive sculpture into the pubic realm. It appeals to all ages and serves as a place-making element and encourages social interaction. - Inspiration
- Inspired by the LC4 chaise-longue, by Le Corbusier, Perriand and Jeanneret and the modernist idea of form follows function.
Looking upwards is inherently optimistic, and something akin to thinking about the future. Cognitive research suggests we do our best thinking lying down. - Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Peter Newman, Skystation 2022
Image #2: Photographer Peter Newman, Skystation 2022
Image #3: Photographer Peter Newman, Skystation 2022
Image #4: Photographer Peter Newman, Skystation 2022
Image #5: Photographer Google Landsat / Copernicus, Canary Wharf 2022