A winning proposal for the ArtScape Youngplace Community Centre in the Ontario Tire Stewardship Student Design Challenge which sought out innovative applications of recycled rubber from old car tires.
The proposed design was exterior public seating doubling as bike racks and planters to engage the surrounding neighbourhood with its community hub while also accomplishing the mission for 50% of recycled rubber to be used.
Working alongside industry partners who helped to bring our product to fruition, our design was manufactured and made a permanent installation of four benches on-site.
The Shaw Bench system centres an array of mass molded rubber bricks, alongside wood accents all stacking onto a steel frame base.
Each material, apart from the whole, has an important role to play. The use of wood acts as a softening counterpart to the rubber for all points of personal contact and high traffic areas. The integration of rubber to the main steel body creates a very solid and stable foundation and a surface that resists weathering and physical damage.
Together, the flexibility of the system makes the bench modular, highly durable and realistically manufacturable for other prospective public spaces.
