Contemporary public bench ZUERA

pineconcretemetal

The bench is a parallelepiped leaned forward with a length of 2 m and a width of 60 cm. The monobloc concrete bench incorporates an overhang that acts as a backrest and maintains the geometrical harmony in aggregation. The optional wooden back is anchored to the bench with metal plates, reinforcing the inclination of the concrete base volume. In linear aggregations, the modules are combined with and without backs. The Zuera bench, in its dual version (with and without a back) was designed by the architects Iñaki Alday and Margarita Jover, in a project for the recovery of the banks of the Gállego River that flows through the town of Zuera, in Aragon. The project won the 2002 European Prize for Urban Public Space. The grey concrete benches, with their wooden backs, are self-standing and installed directly on the river bank terraces. The backless benches located in the area closest to the river can withstand the floods during thaw cycles, fertilising the banks and covering them with specific flora of considerable ecological interest. Later, the Zuera bench in its version with and without a back was installed on the paths of the Fluvial park of the Expo Zaragoza 2008, based on a project by the same authors. Bench made from reinforced, etched, water-repellent concrete in the Escofet standard chart colour. Bench back made of FSC certified pine wood and metallic zinc plated supports with a textured silver coated finish. The Zuera bench is self-balancing and can be simply installed on the paving, with no need for anchors.