parckdesign Competition Results

Earlier this year, Pro Materia and Bruxelles-Environnement organized an open site furniture design competition for Jardins du Fleuriste Park in Brussels called parckdesign (Link: Competition Site). The competition was initiated by Evelyne Huytebroeck, Brussel’s minister of environment and energy. Of the 71 entries received, 5 were selected by a jury of 17 professionals. I could not find any information on their website as to the rules or awards for the competition. All of the entries were benches, so I assume creating a bench was a prerequisite. They definitely had a great response and receive a number of interesting solutions. I was disappointed with the winning solutions. They obviously were not concerned with the act of sitting. They seemed to be more concerned with form and were rather mundane and/or uncomfortable. Of the winning entries, the one I liked most was Breath. It offered users a means of getting an alternative vantage point in a public space.

Many of the designs that were not chosen offered more seating choices and comfort while still providing visually interesting designs. The five entries that I thought were more interesting included the following (Links are to the summary of each entry found on the competition website):

• Ntree: This solution created a striking sculptural element that could be used to frame views while providing a great place to sit and have a conversation.
• Bracelet d'arbre: At first, I thought this was ridiculous, but the more I thought about it, this solution is addresses those times that people would like to sit on the grass, but forgot their blanket. I realize the panels would likely kill the grass, but it could offer a unique pattern of use in the landscape.
• Treecuzzi: I like the versatility of this piece. The ability of sitting around a circle in a group in the interior or sitting individually on the outside edge was a good solution.
• Banc brut: I thought this bench looked comfortable. I also liked how the pieces could be arranged in different configurations.
• 2many: This piece offered various choices for sitting including laying on the grass. I love the integration with the landscape.

The competition site is worth checking out. You can see all of the submitted entries. They even include photos of the fabrication process of the winning entries (link to fabrication photos).