Park benches in unexpected materials nod to Scottish landscape
Five designers breathe new life into the traditional park bench as part of a project with Design Exhibition Scotland (until 15 October 2022)

Park benches are given a contemporary rethink by five Scotland-based designers, as part of an initiative by Design Exhibition Scotland. Designs by Rekha Maker, CA Walac, Dress for the Weather and Stefanie Cheong, Chris Dobson, and James Rigler have been inspired by the architecture and landscape of the Isle of Bute’s Mount Stuart house and gardens.
Local materials including wood and quarried sandstone, recycled plastic, marbled jesmonite, ceramics and scrap metal form the basis for designs that are part of a temporary, site-specific exhibition at Mount Stuart. It is the culmination of a project that began with an open call to designers to create objects that could connect people to nature, inviting users to pause and reflect, enjoying a moment of stillness.
C.A. Walac 'Bending your knees without falling'
For studio Rekha Maker, the project is the chance to explore the relationship between functionality and aesthetics, with textured jesmonite imbuing pieces with a desirable tactility. ‘This is the biggest work I've made for Rekha Maker and I'm over the moon with how it's turned out,’ says founder Rekha Barry of the result. ‘It's been quite an undertaking and I've learned so much along the way. Designed to reflect the sumptuous palette of the Marble Hall inside the house, I've worked to create a piece of luxury for everyone outside. The arched inserts allow wheelchair users to use the benches too, as a surface to place picnics/maps.’
Artist and designer CA Walac draws on her sculptor’s eye for her bench, which rethinks waste with its sleek silhouette.
Meanwhile, in the collaboration between Andy Campbell of Dress for the Weather architects and designer Stefanie Cheong, sustainability is also a concern, with their design crafted from sandstone and a plastic seat made of recycled waste. ‘The benches are formed from two monolithic pieces of Devonian sandstone that dates back 400 million years,’ they explain in their juxtaposition of the past with the present day. ‘Working with Bute’s Ambrisbeg quarry, we sourced sandstone salvaged from a demolished church that once stood in Rothesay, and tooled it into two bench-like forms. The plastic inlay is 100 per cent PET and made from recycled packaging. It provides a wipeable seat and warmth when compared to often cold stone.’
Dress for the Weather x Stefanie Cheong ‘Stone + Plastic Bench 01 + 02’
Local traditions have also attracted architect Chris Dobson, who infuses traditional designs with brutalist-inspired concrete from bus shelters on the Isle of Lewis. For ceramic artist James Rigler, Gothic traditions were the inspiration behind his theatrical design in ceramic. ‘I liked the idea of furniture that speaks the same decorative language as Mount Stuart, yet doesn't quite fit,’ he says. ‘The imitative materials, exaggerated colours and comic form produce a seductive but unsettling presence.’
Adds Susanna Beaumont, director of Design Exhibition Scotland, ‘There’s something so generous about a bench. Benches offer the possibility that somebody can sit next to you, creating a kind of hospitality of the outdoors. You could be there on your own, chatting with a friend or eating a sandwich: but there’s something in that sense of a bench for all. A bench is a piece of sculpture and then you sit on it and it’s a functional object.’
James Rigler, ‘Passing Bench’, 2022
INFORMATION
‘Sitting Pretty’ is on view at Mount Stuart from 9 July to 15 October 2022
ADDRESS
Mount Stuart
Rothesay
Isle of Bute
PA20 9LR
Hannah Silver joined Wallpaper* in 2019 to work on watches and jewellery. Now, as well as her role as watches and jewellery editor, she writes widely across all areas including on art, architecture, fashion and design. As well as offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, Hannah is interested in the quirks of what makes for a digital success story.
-
Have fun with Le Ster’s engagement ring collection
Le Ster’s engagement rings encompass bold and fun forms
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Palm Heights hotel is a Caribbean getaway with a game-changing new spa
Palm Heights hotel in Grand Cayman is the Caribbean destination that everyone is talking about. Here’s why
By Tilly Macalister-Smith • Published
-
Kent Andreasen on failed memories, the fear of AI, and keeping things simple
Cape Town-based photographer Kent Andreasen features in ‘Through the lens’, our monthly series spotlighting Wallpaper* contributors
By Sophie Gladstone • Published
-
Chatsworth House design exhibition explores contemporary design themes in an eclectic setting
‘Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth House’ (18 March – 1 October 2023) offers a novel point of view on the house's interiors and contemporary design, through a series of works by some of today’s most celebrated designers
By Rosa Bertoli • Published
-
Brexit and the design industry: ‘It’s hampering creativity’
Three years after Brexit, we asked designers, design entrepreneurs and representatives of British design organisations how the withdrawal from the European Union has affected the design industry
By Rosa Bertoli • Published
-
PAD London celebrates the past and present of collectible design
PAD London (until 16 October 2022) returns for a new edition presenting historical and collectible design
By Rosa Bertoli • Last updated
-
Carpenters Workshop Gallery opens in Ladbroke Hall
The new west London location includes gallery space as well as a restaurant, a hidden garden and events spaces, and makes its debut with displays of works by David Adjaye and Jose Zanine Caldas
By Rosa Bertoli • Last updated
-
Made in London dives into the city’s rich collection of 21st-century factories
Made in London is a photographic journey through the capital’s surprisingly rich and diverse manufacturing scene, capturing everything from aircraft interiors to cardboard boxes, and everything in between
By Jonathan Bell • Last updated
-
London’s iconic Tube map design grows two new stations
As the London Tube map grows to include two brand new stations, we speak to the designer safeguarding its famous design codes
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
In memoriam: Sir Terence Conran (1931-2020)
Sir Terence Conran will be remembered for countless commercial achievements, but most impressively of all, for possessing a clear and compelling vision for the future of design, retail and hospitality
By Damon Syson • Last updated
-
In conversation: David Adjaye and Stella McCartney on the future of design
This weekend, London's Design Museum presents a special #DesignDispatch discussion between two creative greats
By Elly Parsons • Last updated