ROLLIN’ -public furniture with play value

Abstract

The aim in this project was to spread play in the city and across generations. My way of approaching this challenge was to explore the borderland between playground equipment and street furniture. This opened up many possibilities to afford play in places where playground equipment often is excluded. The goal was to create one, or more, furniture with play value. The target group was all vivasious people spending time in the public outdoor space. Through user studies, a lot of serious playing and a lot of testing, the project resulted in a bench called Rollin´. It has a seating surface made of rotatable balls and you can easily roll from one end of the bench, to the other. Seeing people’s excited reactions when they test the bench is fantastic. The children play as if the bench would be a conveyor belt and the adults are lying down and enjoying the massage, that’s the best proof to a successful project. External partner: Lappset Sweden AB.