The article discusses the ongoing challenge of inadequate public seating in South Africa, a legacy of apartheid that impacts lower-income areas. To address this, communities have creatively repurposed items like milk crates and cinder blocks into improvised seating. This culture of resourcefulness inspired designer Hanneke Lourens to create the Leftover Bench, which combines elements of a stool, bench, and chair, using salvaged redwood. Displayed at San Francisco Art Week, it celebrates both community gathering and sustainable design, illustrating how scarcity can fuel creativity and connection.
The Leftover Bench, inspired by South African ingenuity, merges creativity and craftsmanship as a response to the lack of safe, communal public spaces in lower-income areas.
In South Africa, inventive improvisation has turned milk crates and cinder blocks into gathering spots, reflecting a culture shaped by historical public space deficiencies.
Collection
[
|
...
]