The idea for the Horten Upper Secondary School was to create a hub between the city park and the newly designed area between the park and school.

As the main entrance to the area is right beside the place for the sculpture, I thought it important that people would be welcomed or adopted by something friendly and also by something they can immediately connect to.

The benches intertwine and harmonize around their immediate surroundings. With their loops, curves, high arches and edges the people are invited to play or to take a seat. The benches are actually one bench. It binds everything together, following an imaginary line that partly runs underneath the ground, gently ascending as a bench in one place, winding and stretching itself, then disappearing again by drilling back into the ground just to reappear in another place again.

People are invited to play an active role by not only using the benches as seating but by enlarging the opportunities of social practice offered by the bench and thus to become performers themselves.

All benches are yellow. That’s how they become visually one, even if they are all different. Yellow is a very powerful and energetic colour. It is associated with the light and the sun. That gives their surroundings  a gentle brightness and welcomes the visitor very kindly in every season.

Modified Social Benches Horten

Year: 2019

Materials: Powder-coated aluminium

Dimensions: 6 benches, dimension variable

Permanent installation at Horten Upper Secondary School, Horten, Norway

Photos by Bjørn Harstad