Increasingly, urban design incorporates features that deter rest, such as hostile architecture including railings and spikes on benches. In response, a San Francisco design firm aims to counteract this trend with a 4-mile bench proposal, part of the 'Market Street Reimagined' initiative. This bright yellow bench will provide 10,000 seats, addressing a significant lack of seating identified in previous urban development efforts. The project emphasizes the importance of fixed seating as civic infrastructure over the growing preference for movable seating, which diminishes public accessibility.
In recent projects, we have seen the removal of fixed benches and an overall preference for movable seating over fixed seating-it's less expensive, can be stored overnight, and moved around.
These trends reflect a broader pattern of designing out rest and permanence, which is why we believe bold interventions-like our 4-Mile Bench proposal-are needed to reframe seating as essential civic infrastructure.
The proposal is essentially what it sounds like: a 4-mile-long, bright yellow bench that would make one big loop around Market Street, offering a whopping 10,000 seats for residents and tourists.
According to Laura Crescimano, cofounder and principal of Sitelab, the firm previously identified the shocking lack of seating downtown through a project called the Downtown San Francisco Public Realm Action Plan.
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