Skystation El Banco Escultórico by Peter Newman

Skystation El Banco Escultórico by Peter Newman is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award de Plata in Diseño de Mobiliario Urbano Competition Category.

PlataMobiliario Urbano· 2023

Skystation El Banco Escultórico

by Peter Newman

Client: Peter Newman Studio

A' Design Award de Plata Winner in Mobiliario Urbano Category

745,433
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #149050

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Skystation El Banco Escultórico

Skystation es una escultura interactiva que también ofrece algunos asientos para el público. Los contornos de la obra están diseñados para adaptarse a la forma humana reclinada y fomentar la contemplación del cielo. Los asientos que proporciona son similares a lo que la NASA llama postura corporal neutral, que es la forma a la que vuelve el cuerpo cuando está libre de la influencia de la gravedad. Skystation crea una oportunidad para la pausa, la reflexión y la interacción dentro del ámbito público. Está inspirado en la idea modernista de que la forma sigue a la función. Tiene el efecto incidental de hacer que las conversaciones entre extraños sean casi inevitables.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Plata

Skystation El Banco Escultórico ha ganado el A' Design Award de Plata, un reconocimiento extraordinariamente prestigioso concedido a diseños de gama alta, magníficos e impresionantes. Los ganadores de Plata son obras tremendamente brillantes y sumamente creativas que ilustran la destacada experiencia, el talento y la agudeza de sus diseñadores. Se espera que Skystation El Banco Escultórico sea una obra maravillosa y emblemática, notablemente profesional y profundamente innovadora. Este diseño ganador del A' Design Award de Plata es una invención muy notable y admirada que beneficia y hace avanzar las fronteras del arte, la ciencia, el diseño y la tecnología. Skystation El Banco Escultórico es una creación enormemente envidiada que evoca deseos, aporta sentimientos positivos y despierta asombro y admiración.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

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.
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.
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.
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