Urban Fire Benches is Beautiful When an Element can do so many Things for The Public Realm

It is beautiful when an element can do so many things for the public realm. Not only do we need more seating in the city, but we need seating that is more engaging, and promotes better opportunities for social interaction. These benches are designed in such a way that we can gather inwards, or gaze outwards, promoting a variety of social engagement opportunities within the vibrant Bloor Street corridor between Church and University Avenue.

Beyond the engaging seat itself, it gathers us around a tree, exploiting the benefits of the canopy overhead. The variety of leaf area provides a diversity of dappled shade throughout the corridor and a range of experiences.

This was already exciting as an urban element in the city; however, the incorporation of dynamic lighting, which can be choreographed to represent the theme of the day, brings a warmth and calmness to an otherwise frenetic street, and they invite you into them with the lights acting as beacons.

Lastly, the design incorporated some repurposed granite elements of the street that were not being used the way they were intended, and through this repurposing have found their place as granite bookends to these curved benches. A beautiful outcome that ties together different design intentions through the decades.

Project Information

Architect: Dialog, DTAH

Electrical Engineer: Mulvey & Banani 

Design Lead: Mulvey & Banani Lighting

Developer/Owner/Client: Bloor-Yorkville BIA

General Contractor: Somerville Construction

Photographer: Osvaldo Sepulveda, Mulvey & Banani Lighting