#3: Take to the streets – find a bench
Inspired by the practical philosophy described in Street Wisdom I decided to take myself on a flaneur, to hold the question of “What can I explore for my project” as I walk and look to the reciprocity of the street to provide answers.
I took a stroll around Brick Lane, letting my curiosity guide me, putting practical use to the guiding edict I remembered from Street Wisdom “What interests you is your future self trying to manifest in the present moment”.
I let my feet guide me, enjoying the feeling of being at home in my purposelessness, I used to do it so much more when I used to tour more often. There were no immediately stunning revelations however, I followed impulses and subtle signs, helped out a man called Danny who had run out of fuel and needed some money, I let my feet guide me from place to place. All in all it was a good seven hours of strolling. I met up with my girlfriend and we went for some food, I was chatting to her about how I still had no idea what I would focus on for my project, after so long on my feet I was desperate for a place to sit and relax but there was none to be seen. “If I could change the world” I remarked off-hand “I would create more places to sit down.”
In that moment some answers started to come to me; I could create a series of benches that were designed to help people rest and reflect, to offer potential moments of reverence and connection, like a little cathedral, a place to feel at home in the world.
A place to Be – The Philosophy of Benches
I feel as if the street is an important place for my project to be situated, the street is free and open to all, it is the places where I have most often found connection, both with myself and my fellow humans. Benches too are an important feature of public life, an article by Edwin Heathcote, the architecture critic for the Financial Times calls public benches “The Seat of Civilisation”
“The bench suggests the city is a place in which we can belong, without having to consume, that it is not the alienating metropolis of myth but a place capable of welcome and generosity.” (Financial Times, June 19th 2015)
Benches are the antidote to a world obsessed by productivity, where everyone seems to have a place to go. They are a place for rich and poor alike to Belong, to take time to stop and watch the world go by, in this way they embody the spirit of mindfulness. As Heathcote goes on to mention;
“It is a place to be private in public, a small space in the melee of the metropolis where it is acceptable to do nothing, to consume nothing, to just be.” (https://www.ft.com/content/f38b96f2-1019-11e5-ad5a-00144feabdc0)
I would like to lean in to the social function of benches and make a place that wasn’t just for sitting, but a small oasis that could be a refuge for those struggling with their mental health. A place for connection and rejuvenation.
Bench based projects
There are already several projects already working with the utility of benches. The Friendship Bench project in Africa is the most pertinent to my ideas.
I like the way this project provides direct access to help for those in need. I would certainly like my project to have this capability, but I think it should also be available to those who are not in specific urgent need, it should be available to the general member of the public. I think it is important to engage people who would not be able to identify that they are suffering, as many people struggle to do so. My project should be a preventative measure, an intervention that helps people to connect with something they didn’t even know they were missing.
The Young Foundation has also undertaken a research project into benches and their use in a selection of public areas in London. They have developed this manifesto.
This is a good set of guidance when thinking about my project.