Take a Seat encourages strangers to meet and interact over a familiar piece of urban furniture.
We see benches as inert objects every day. We pass by them, most of the time just rushing on our journey through the city. Take A Seat is an LED, sensor covered bench placed on a public square. Alone, it shines and blinks to attract people’s attention. When someone comes and sits down, it comes to life – encouraging movements from the person sitting, attracting other potential sitters, and getting them to interact.
Based on the artist’s concept of cities as living, co-created spaces of interaction, Take a Seat is an interactive installation with a mission. Happy City Lab aim to show how the simple process of creative interventions can transform our use of one of the most common pieces of urban furniture and by extension our engagement with the city and one another.