meta[b]ole | FKAT.Studio, AYK Associates Architects

Project Description

[Text as submitted by Architect] This project is the winning proposal for the Urban Furniture Competition announced in 2017 by Andreou Laser and the Municipality of Larnaka. It has been developed to create an outstanding-designed structure which functions as a multifunctional bench for sitting and quick resting. The structure is designed to serve the swimmers and other passerby who stroll on the boardwalk along the Makenzie beach in Larnaka, Cyprus.

The form finding was approached from the study of the linear flow of the circulation along the beach and the behavioural triangular notion “stop-sit-relax”. Then, the organic shape of the furniture was shaped on the intersection of this combination, highlighting the dynamism of the moving flow, combined with the pre-scribed range of alternative relaxing poses.

The resulting form is designed to be adapted to human body’s proportions and measurements. The featured “ridges and valleys” give the sense of a continuous ever-changing motion in the set boundaries within a single organic gesture.

The proposal combines two phases of digital design and fabrication; At phase one all individual panels were cut using a laser cutter machine, while in the second phase a bending machine is responsible for bending specified panels, creating the bench surface. To accentuate the seating use of the bench, Iroko solid timber was placed on top of the leaps. The joinery was also further highlighted with the use of stainless-steel components, contrasting on the dark Corten steel.

All requirement components and fastening equipment were calculated with precision and presented in tables, reducing significantly the time of assembly procedure.