Plaudereckn Public Furniture
| Location | 5 different locations in Vienna |
| Principal use | Public Furniture |
| Year | 2020 |
| Status | completed |
| Design Team | Mark Neuner, Marlene Lötsch |
| Client | City of Vienna |
In the middle of the Covid-pandemic, we were commissioned by the city of Vienna to design a public bench. The furniture should stimulate social contacts while helping to comply to the Covid-19 rules.
Our idea was to design colourful and comfortable furniture which invites people to sit down and have a chat. A small side table enables all kinds of activities and to helps to transform it to your outside living room. The bench was equipped with a common flower which someone has to take care of.
The Plaudereckn are also published in the City of Vienna’s Sitzfibel
To support communication we turned the seating positions slightly towards each other. A small table between the two seats can be used as coffee table for playing cards and facilitates exchange while making sure to keep physically distant.
For the production of the bright seating sheets, we cooperated with the European wide collective Plaatjesmakers. The interlocking circles of plastic sheets remind of terrazzo or marble, but actually consist of old fridges and shampoo caps. Sorted, Shredded, Pressed and Cut they make for a durable seating surface, suitable for public furniture.
Picture by Plaatjesmakers The coral steel frame construction was custom made in Vienna by Wolfgang Ure. It lends the public bench a solid base and sets a bright and joyful sign in the street scape.
