Gold Street Furniture Design · 2020
1x1 Urban Furniture System
by Mykolas Seckus and Antonio Gandolfo
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Street Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: MA projects
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 197,982
- Verification code 7DCB075315 · Verify this award
About 1x1 Urban Furniture System
1x1 is a modular urban furniture system for public spaces. Each element works alone as a bench, table, planter or lamppost, or in groups that form small outdoor areas. All parts share the same standardized frame, the same materials and the same fixing methods. Timber, precast concrete and stainless steel are used. Components are produced off site and then assembled on site, which reduces shipment size. The system can be expanded or reduced by adding or removing elements, so both permanent and temporary use is possible.
Mykolas Seckus and Antonio Gandolfo's 1x1 Urban Furniture System emerges from contemporary discourse surrounding tactical urbanism and the democratization of public space, representing a thoughtful contribution to the ongoing conversation about how modular design systems might address the diverse and evolving needs of urban communities. The work demonstrates considerable sophistication in its resolution of the fundamental tension between systematic standardization and responsive flexibility, achieving through its one-meter-by-one-meter base module a vocabulary of elements that may be combined, recombined, and extended to serve countless programmatic requirements while maintaining visual and structural coherence. The material palette reveals sensitivity to both durability and sensory experience, the warm timber surfaces inviting tactile engagement and bodily comfort while the steel framework provides structural integrity and suggests permanence appropriate to civic infrastructure. Particularly noteworthy is the integration of substantial planting volumes within the furniture system itself, elevating the design beyond mere seating provision toward active contribution to urban ecological health and microclimate moderation. The inclusion of mature tree specimens within the system's capability suggests ambition toward genuine landscape integration rather than token greening. The presentation methodology, employing populated isometric projection against neutral ground, follows conventions of architectural and industrial design communication while the inclusion of diverse human figures engaged in varied activities demonstrates the designers' consideration of multiple user types and social scenarios. One might observe how the system appears to facilitate both social gathering and solitary retreat, responding to the complexity of public life. The viewer is invited to consider how such systematized approaches to street furniture might transform underutilized urban spaces into vital zones of community life and ecological restoration.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The design is a unique modular urban furniture family. Furniture elements work both as stand-alone urban furniture pieces as well as a small scale public realm with adjustable programs. Design can be described as flexible, scalable, industrial, modular urban furniture which can work as a permanent or temporary public space intervention. Due to the intelligent use of materials design achieves high optimization as all elements use the same standardized frame structure likewise common materials and fixing methods.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Bench: 1000mm x 1000mm x 460mm
Table/Platform: 1000mm x 1000mm x 60mm
Lamppost: 100mm x 100mm x 1000mm
1m. Planter: 1000mm x 1000mm x 1000mm
0.5m Planter: 1000mm x 1000mm x 500mm
1m.Pipe: 100mm x 100mm x 1040mm
0.5m. Pipe: 100mm x 100mm x 540mm
0.25m. Pipe: 100mm x 100mm x 290mm
Additional information and drawings are inside the PDF document. - Tags
- Industrial, Modular, Scalable, Interactive, Optimized
- Production Technology
- Materials:
Timber (Local or Baltic Birch)
Concrete (Precast)
Steel (Stainless Steel)
All the elements would be manufactured off-site and then brought for assembly to the site, thus optimizing the shipment size and convenience of production.
Realization Technology:
Manufacturing would be quite conventional since there is no complex geometry involved. Concrete would be precast, timber parts cut using usual machines and steel parts would be coming from semi-finished elements welded together. - Design Challenge
- One of the hardest challenges was how to make individual elements work together in a vertical and horizontal structure layout. Furthermore, how to minimise material options as well as fixing methods while creating a robust and feasible design proposal.
- Project Duration
- The project is a conceptual design with design inspiration deriving from Refshaleoen, Copenhagen. Though design could be implemented and used in other sites, preferably within an industrial setting
- Operation Flow
- The system can work as individual furniture piece (bench/planter) or in groups forming small outside spaces (park/urban farm). While one might initially need only a small seating place outside their facility, another season might ask for a larger space where increasing numbers of visitors and clients could be accommodated. 1x1 design allows to expand or shrink by either adding or taking away individual elements. Furthermore, there is no need for a long-term commitment in case something changes.
- Research
- In the world, with continuous globalization and mass production, we forget to address the need for individuality. While in architecture it is a common understanding to respond to a site's specific needs and spatial qualities, street furniture is usually the victim of generic design. The industry is moving towards supply by demand model with local solutions and the customer having an increasingly higher voice in customization. 1x1 modular furniture design attempts to address these concerns
- Inspiration
- Design derived from the inspiration of a post-industrial site Refshaleoen, Copenhagen. Due to a comprehensive understanding of the site qualities, was pointed out the concern that the site would not have an extensive public realm, thus it was retrieved to hypothetically provide it through a multitude of small interventions. Furthermore, apart from the inspiration of rich and unique site qualities, the concept was influenced by insights of scaffolding structure and Dieter Rams shelving system 606.
- Image Credits
- credits for visuals:
Antonio Gandolfo & Mykolas Seckus
Colors of 1x1 Urban Furniture System
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Urban Furniture and Public Space Design Services
We combine landscape architecture and industrial design to create innovative urban furniture systems. Our modular solutions transform public spaces with flexible, scalable designs that respond to site-specific needs and evolve with communities.
G0E2 ShopDesign Interview about 1x1 Urban Furniture System
The main principle behind the design is to have an adaptable system able to fit different programmes and contexts needs. The family of urban furniture “1X1” can be scaled up and down in three dimensions, thus filling up the void space in an urban fabric. There were three main inspiration sources starting from scaffolding structure and Rubik cube to Dieter Rams ‘‘Vitsoe 606 Universal Shelving System’’.
We wanted to imagine a modular three-dimensional grid made out of simple street furniture elements. We thought about the production and assembling process, likewise keeping low manufacturing and maintenance costs. Most of the components are standard in heavy production.
Since the beginning we planned to realize this project in the area it was designed for as an initial source of inspiration. We analyzed an island on the southeast of Copenhagen-Refshaleøen, which was in need of this kind of intervention due to a multitude of reasons, as this post-industrial area has never seen a proper public space regeneration. Besides that, the design can be adapted to any area, need, or city around the world in an appropriate setting. For this reason we would like to see the project held in production by a company and hopefully this might just happen thanks to the amazing opportunity we are receiving by the A Design Award team after winning the golden prize.
The design process went through different stages for several months. The main phase before the final submission was around 3 months long. Time was stretched due to the lack of time as we were working in an architecture firm at the time so we had to spend many long nights on it...
I guess it was the combination of inspiration and the surrounding influence such as working in an architectural firm at the time as well as other local Copenhagen design firm ideas rubbing-off on us.
We actually plan to sell it or lease the production rights.
If you mean street furniture, then we would suggest that we were looking for the opportunity to work on something together where we could join our shared knowledge and skillsets of Landscape Architect and Industrial Designer. Furthermore we wanted to create something that we could potentially implement and get built.
Otherwise, it was probably the time we spent on Refshaleøen island. For the record, it is one of those unique gems you can find in different cities around the globe. And as we continued to occasionally visit this place, we got more and more fond of it, hence we started to think that it might be interesting and fascinating to design something for the area as it has so much potential and need for various design interventions.
Otherwise, it was probably the time we spent on Refshaleøen island. For the record, it is one of those unique gems you can find in different cities around the globe. And as we continued to occasionally visit this place, we got more and more fond of it, hence we started to think that it might be interesting and fascinating to design something for the area as it has so much potential and need for various design interventions.
We love the approach of Dieter Rams and his ideas on Good Design. In the beginning we followed the 606 shelved system designed by Rams thinking about scalability and modularity and since then we kept those guidelines along with us.
The client could be anybody from municipality wanting a medium-scale public space intervention, to a small business owner who might be in need of some individual street furniture elements outside of his coffee shop. While the end-user would be anyone passing by our design
There are plenty of other modular street furniture families, however, most of them can only scale up horizontally, while we can grow vertically. Moreover, our design uses frame structure as a means of assembling various modules together while others join directly. As a result of these design aspects our furniture family has fewer restrictions and limits, thus capable of adapting and developing into an entire small scale public realm with various potential program options. Lastly, due to the frame structure and assembling methods the design comes even closer to a truly portable street furniture set, which is easy to transport and can be deployed according to the needs.
1x1 simply refers to the 1 to 1 meter grid system on which the whole design is based upon.
Initially we were using analog sketching and then we moved on to digital 3D modeling in order to start testing the idea.
Most likely its the aspect of true adaptability and scalability. It works as a stand-alone individual furniture peace as well as a full programme structure such as a pocket park or an event stage.
So far it has been an isolated process with only two of us having input on the design. Though we had a great amount of support from our friends and colleagues from the office where we used to work.
The role of technology would be to improve the manufacturing process ensuring an easy and low cots end product. Obviously further technological applications should be analyzed. But overall as a simple example we would like to see a convenient process method where a site such as Refshaleøen with its multiple facilities and programs would continually develop and progress its outside spaces with the help of 1x1 modules according to its real-time needs such as seasonality and various events. It could be a sort of dynamic urban ecosystem where modules could assemble into one large structure during a one a year music event, while otherwise group clusters of various programs which could exchange and improve by sharing individual elements.
In the early stages of our design process we conducted a site analysis as a source of inspiration as well as a link to real-life restrictions and issues. For instance, as we observed and analyzed the site we found the aspect of seasonality or a relatively quickly changing environment with different events, programs, or other circumstances requiring a spontaneous adaptation in a specific place within the site.
Well since we aimed to reduce the number of elements, materials, and fixing methods it was challenging to find ways to reduce additional parts in order to keep it as simple as possible. Otherwise the significant challenge was time management as all the work was done after office hours and weekends.
Well to begin with we started our design with a competition in mind. We wanted to participate in the competition as it could give us a better chance to actually realize our ideas as well as give some design recognition.
It is quite difficult to measure as well as to be self-critical about these sorts of aspects, but in a quick sum up we learned more about attending online design competitions as well as got better insights about modular systems.