Embracing the pothole

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This article was published 02/08/2016 (3513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Storefront MB and the Winnipeg Trails Association have announced the winners of the BENCHmark  design competition.

The contest challenged designers to come up with benches that depart from the traditional concept of seating nodes.

The two winning benches, designed by Michelle Tustin, and Kellen Deighton, Karen Hare, and J Neufeld (of Wood Anchor), will be installed at two locations along Winnipeg’s trail systems: Crampton’s Market and at the Agassiz end of the Bishop Grandin Trail.

Tustin’s design, titled Pothole bench, will be installed along the trail system outside Crampton’s.

The design reflects the potholes that plague Winnipeg streets while celebrating the natural potholes, sloughs and wetlands that characterize the landscape in the southwest part of Manitoba.

Wood Anchor’s winning design, titled Scattered Spheres uses reclaimed white oak to create rounded seats that encourage users to interact with them in novel ways.

The winning designs are expected to be constructed and unveiled in September.