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| Is it a seat? Art? Implement of Torture? |
Something weird is happening in our fair city. There has
been a whole rash of new seating. At least I think it’s meant to be seating.
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| The Play School Model - it's a shame that you can't tell how small these are from the pictures. Maybe the Council had the same problem |
The first group is clustered mainly around Liverpool Street
and I call it the Play School Model. The individual pieces are a bit small and
low for seating, are mostly made of metal and are brightly coloured – fire engine
red, sky blue, lime green. The only trouble is that they don’t look very
comfortable. They are hard and unforgiving and on these cold and frosty
mornings I avoid them because I have the feeling that there would be a tearing
of flesh should you attempt to get up after sitting on them.
Some remind me of
preschool desks. Our Mayor is young. On the other hand, I wonder if the
purchasing officer ordered them from a catalogue without looking closely at the
specifications to make sure they suited the dimensions of the average European
posterior. Then again, that may be the intention. I mean we can’t have people
loitering idly in the city – not rushing, not shopping, not dining, unlike
European cities where people are welcome, even encouraged to sit about
relaxing, people watching, playing Scrabble or Tavli or making love in the case of say, Russia or Santiago.
In my humble opinion public visibility is a cheap form of security – less vandalism,
less bag snatching, fewer unwanted advances, maybe even less littering.
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| The Luggage Rack- this is the best one to sit on, especially on a cold day. It does have a few wooden slats |
I recently had occasion to ponder this in the neighbouring community
of Moonah as well. There on the main street they have an interesting
collection of seating that from a distance appears to be comfortable lounge
furniture. There were installations that even looked like beds. Looking for a
place to perch briefly, I hurried towards it, only to discover that it was all
made of concrete. It did look absolutely vandal proof, but not somewhere you
would actually want to sit or lie. Didn’t the maker’s Mum tell him or her that
sitting on concrete would give them piles? So what is it? Art? A deterrent? What do you think? More
importantly what was the council thinking?
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| Glenorchy's effort - would be nice if it was foam |
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| Le Chaise Longue |
Nice try Councils. We do need more seating – we baby boomers are
getting on. Though I might still tackle the odd lost waterfall, I’m finding it increasingly
to difficult to stagger up these hills with armloads of shopping. It would
also be nice to have some seats overlooking beautiful views for contemplation,
and definitely at least one at some of the other bus stops, but PLEASE can we make them
less aesthetically interesting and more people friendly.
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| The remarkable Dentist's Chair |
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