Location: London Bridge Station, London, UK

Type: Public Seating

Collaboration: Victoria Philpotts

Fabricator: Raskl

Sponsor: James Latham & Garnica

Client: London Festival of Architecture / Network Rail

Budget: £5,000

Lacuna
The Lacuna Bench is the winning design for Network Rail and London Festival of Architecture’s station seating competition. Designed by Nick Tyrer and award-winning garden designer Victoria Philpotts. The bench is installed at London Bridge Station.

The project is being developed with Raskl fabricators, with Plywood kindly supplied by James Latham and Garnica.

Concept:

Train stations are large, loud and bustling spaces. The challenge we wished to address was how to create an escape from the hectic energy and busyness of the station. How to find a personal space while sat in the middle of a crowd. Our bench design aims to find that space, the Lacuna, the gap in the flow of people.

In developing the bench, we have employed traditional design principles of seating design, for a safe, durable structure, that is ergonomic and comfortable. This has been complimented with a variety of techniques to improve the sense of safety and relaxation, both physically and psychologically. This ethos has guided all our decisions.

Design:

The Lacuna bench aims to create an oasis in the busy station environment, offering users a private, secure and comfortable place to rest.

The organic shape contrasts the hard, straight lines of the surroundings, providing a feeling of escape into a more natural space.  The rounded planters, which flank each individual seat, provide a sense of enclosure, offering each user a private space within the larger concourse.  This is emphasised by the loose, naturalistic planting which softens the edges of the planters, and seems to envelope users, giving a sense of escapism.  The planters, which wrap around each seat, obscure the peripheral vision, not only hiding fellow bench users from one another, but adding to the sense of enclosure and intimacy in each seat.  The users sit with their backs to one another, providing a comfortable seat which adheres to ergonomic principles, and instilling this sense of privacy.

The layered plywood used for the outer shell is textural and tactile. It retains its pale wood colour, adding to the natural feel of the bench, and the layered veneer gives an interesting patterned finish.  The natural feel is emphasised with the simple and calming planting palate of greens and white, whilst their tactile and sensual qualities enhance the feeling of escapism.

Woodland:

 The planting design evokes a wooded glade, providing an oasis in a frenetic urban environment.  It will heighten the sense of enclosure and security evoked by the organic shape of the bench, and instil a sense of calm and tranquillity.

 Naturalistic planting will spill over the bench sides, helping the user to feel immersed in the planting and adding to the sense of reprieve from the bustle beyond.  A palette of green accented with white flowering perennials and bursts of bronze and deep red will offer a calming but interesting feel to the planting.