Studio Consilio

Sitting quietly in the architecture building is a small courtyard space that adds a beautiful green space to the concrete architectural fortress. However, due to the lack of benches in this area, it is sorely under used and ignored. In the efforts to revitalize this space, one ambitious professor with twenty students decided to reinvigorate this courtyard with a hanging bench system. There were rounds of individual and group charrettes, resulting in the formation of a main design group concurrently working with a bracket design group. I was one of three of the main design team and the liaison with the bracket design team. Together, the six main people of these two groups developed the final design of this hanging bench system. The system is completely freestanding with no permanent attachments to the concrete wall of the courtyard. It is held in place by tension and compression. The design of the bench itself consists of seating, tables, and coves. There are two coves, one for sleeping or lounging, and one for studying that contains a table for working. As well, the coves contain solar lights so that they can be utilized during the evening hours as well. All of the lumber used was generously donated by Big Creek Lumber. This bench and cove system won the 2012 California Innovation in Wood Design Award.