The Hangang Art Park in Seoul has a new addition that blends public furniture with an art installation – a bench that looks like growing roots, sprawling out on the grass.
The Root Bench is located in Ichon-dong, in the Yongsan District of Seoul. Image courtesy of Kyungsub Shin/Yong Ju Lee Architecture
The concept of the Root Bench is to create an “organic shape that creates spatial connectivity,” a piece of urban furniture where people can sit, lean, rest and talk. The different “roots” have different heights, making them either a children bench or an adult bench— and some of them are raised even higher, creating tables perfect for snacking or reading. Yong Ju Lee Architecture, the creator of the Root Bench, says it’s the perfect place to “rest and enjoy the art piece at the same time.”
An algorithm calculated all the various branching out directions. Image courtesy of Kyungsub Shin/Yong Ju Lee Architecture
The Root Bench was designed through a mathematical algorithm and 3D geometry and placed directly on the grass, creating a “dynamic shape of the root spreading through the park.” It has a metal frame base with concrete footing that supports the main structure, all covered by a wooden deck. It has a diameter of 30 metres, and it merges a familiar shape, the circle, with the park, “blurring the boundary between artificial instalment and natural environment.”
The whole structure covers an area of roughly 700 sq m. Image courtesy of Yong Ju Lee Architecture
It’s definitely worth checking out if you happen to be in South Korea’s capital, and more specifically in the Yongsan District, just north of the Han river and right in the centre of the city.
The various heights create benches for children, adults and even tables. Image courtesy of Kyungsub Shin/Yong Ju Lee Architecture
If you’d like to know more about other projects like the Root Bench, you can visit the website of Yong Ju Lee Architecture here.
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