Foldable Bench

The purpose of this project was to design for equity. I needed to find a design problem that prevented equity and that was persistent in everyday life.

The design problem I chose for this project was the contemporary benches in downtown Toronto. These benches are divided by three arm rests and prevent comfortable sitting. The purpose of the original benches was to prevent people from lying down on these benches, and loitering in these areas.

I decided to redesign these benches to be more comfortable. My design focuses on making benches in downtown Toronto more friendly toward homeless people, and accessible to those with disabilities. With my design people are able to comfortably sit and lie down.

My design of the bench removes the middle armrest, and has a folding mechanism for the arm rests on the sides of the bench. Another feature of my design is the surface of the bench. It is made from a recycled polyester, a comfortable and sustainable material. My design also has the folding mechanism which allows for laying down comfortably. These features encourage people to lay down and spend time in these areas.

In my design the foldable arm rest allows users to sit close by to each other, this design is also more accessible to those with disabilities, allowing them to sit comfortably.