A piece of urban furniture in brickwork, Kastellet 1999.

In the autumn of 1999 a special exhibition of urban furniture took place at Kastellet in Copenhagen, arranged by The National Committee of "A Day of Building Culture".
My contribution was a piece of furniture made from bricks.

The idea behind this multifunctional piece of furniture is that you can use it and sit on it in several ways, depending on age and inclination.
You can sit in comfort leaning back, or more informally like on the steps. Children can play on it, jump and climb.

Brickwork has some evident qualities as a material for urban furniture.
It suits city houses well and it ages beautifully.
Brickwork can be a very vibrant material offering a variety of sensory experiences. Furthermore it is a strong material that adapt itself well to the dimensions of a given urban space.

Choosing brick as material you gives a somewhat rough piece of furniture, which corresponds very well with its multifunctional usage.
In the place where you sit most comfortably the bricks are glazed to become more water-resistant.

In the design of this piece of brick furniture I have used the inherent characteristics of brickwork familiar to us all from e.g. brick steps and the detached brick wall. The small displacement - the influence of light and shade on the colour of the bricks. The effect of the small and big cubes shaping space.

A sculptural piece of urban furniture that can be used in existing urban spaces, in parks, around harbours and in connection with new building developments.

The bench was bricklayed by students from The Technical School of Copenhagen. Bricks was sponsored by Petersen Tegl, Egernsund A/S. Mortar was sponspored by Optiroc.
Photos: Ole Akhøj and Helle Vibeke Steffensen.