Graffiti Bench

Rationale

I chose to design a piece of furniture that would encourage visitors to use and interact with it. The two biggest issues at my selected location (Basketball court in Kellyville area) was the amount of rubbish lying around along with the graffiti around the area. The site sees a lot of daily activity with a public school across the road, there are also no benches around and there is a fast food restaurant nearby. This results in quite a bit of rubbish and vandalism around the site. There is no official crime rate data for this site, since the latest data for this site is from 2010, while this place was built after that.

In my final design i wanted a place where people are encouraged to graffiti in a controlled area, i included a space on the design that includes a sheet of recycled LDPE that is replaced every time the bins are emptied. This encourages graffiti on the bench rather than on random places around the court. The beams on the bench are made of HDPE and the rest is a stainless steel frame. HDPE is a strong and durable plastic appropriate for long-term use. Stainless steel was used since it does not corrode and is rust proof, it is also very durable. There are three individual bins for different types of waste located on the back; there are also lids on each to keep the smell to a minimum. The entire bench is also bolted down into the ground to prevent possible theft.

My design solution provides a controlled environment where vandals can graffiti; the design also acts as a bench and rubbish bin for the everyday users to increase social activity and to encourage the public to use the bins.

Sunprit Singh

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