The students of UTh designed the Polytope bench, a multipurpose seat made of worn-out table tops

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Polytope bench is a large multipurpose seat made of worn-out drafting table tops. The idea behind its design is the exploration of body posture in public. In addition to typical sitting, the bench’s intrinsic geometry encourages inclining, straddling, taking a nap, vis-à-vis conversations, and spontaneous improvisations. The formal definition of polytope bench combines narratives of landforms in architecture -the conception of a design artifact as a piece of the landscape where the body discovers its fitting place- as well as observations of street style ad-hoc seating. A special mention to the 522 Tokyo chaise longue designed by Charlotte Perriand is incorporated in the bench’s multivalent profile. Along its six meters of length, small groups and individuals can be simultaneously hosted.

The bench was produced by the group of students following Hybrid Ecologies course at the Department of Architecture – University of Thessaly.  Research on material harvesting combined with financial constraints lead professor Sophia Vyzoviti to decide recycling the school’s redundant, scratched, spray painted graffiti full tabletops. The boards acquire a second life upcycled as structural ribs of this resilient, multipurpose seat. Production took place at the school’s Wood and Metal Shop combining digital fabrication techniques with hands-on assembly.

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Credits
location  
The University of Thessaly, School of Engineering, Department of Architecture, Volos, Greece
tutor  
Sophia Vyzoviti, Architect PhD, Associate Professor
student designers  
Elisavet Baltoglou, Thodoris Chalvatzoglou, Evi Mani and Roxani Sevastou, Evita Papazisi, Miltos Tsakiris
assembly team  
Maria Lymperidou, Danai Anastasiou, Panagiotis Kravaritis, Iasonas Bitsikas, Eugenia Michalea, Maria Kainourgiou, Vicky Manaridou, Vicky Chatzikonstantinou
photography 
Thodoris Chalvatzoglou


area   3m2
structure and materials  24m2 melamine coated particle board (35 drafting table tops), 33m iron rods, 700 bolts, 700 flat washers, 9lt resin
budget   150 euro
year   2017

suppliers
Α. ΦΟΡΟΥΛΗΣ & ΥΙΟΙ ΑΒΕΤΕ http://www.forulis.gr/


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