# Playful Public Seating This Interaction-Encouraging Public Bench is Inspired by a Merry-Go-Round By Alyson Wyers | Published 2015-05-19 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/public-bench References: [psfk](http://www.psfk.com/2015/05/bench-go-round-social-cities-market-street-prototyping-festival.html) & [georgezisiadis](http://www.georgezisiadis.com/) Given most people will probably avoid talking to the stranger sharing a public bench with them, George Zisiadis did a redesign to encourage play and [social interaction](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/is-this-seat-taken-campaign). Based in San Francisco, the designer created the Bench Go Round -- a mix between a bench and a merry-go-round. Strangers can spin together on the [artistic seating](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/us-her-him), allowing people to connect over a fun moment. The whimsical public bench has a literal twist, so each side faces opposite ways. There is also a swivel feature in the middle, so when people are sitting they can use their feet to push and make the whole structure rotate. This also seems to encourage hand-holding. Zisiadis explains, "The goal was to create a shared single surface that both preserves personal space but also invites connection with the person adjacent to you." ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 6.1/10 - Popularity: 94% | Activity: 81% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) > [Furniture](https://www.trendhunter.com/furniture) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Interactive Public Seating:** Designing public benches with interactive features to encourage social interaction and play presents opportunities for innovative public space design solutions. - **Whimsical Public Seating:** Creating public seating that is both artistic and functional presents potential for playful and engaging design solutions in urban environments. - **Socially-driven Public Seating Design:** Designing public benches with a focus on social connection and community building presents opportunities for innovative public space solutions that prioritize human interaction. ### Where This Applies - **Urban Design:** Innovative public seating design presents opportunities for urban designers to create unique and engaging public spaces. - **Public Art:** Designing public seating that is both functional and artistic presents opportunities for the public art industry to collaborate with urban designers. - **Community Development:** Designing public seating with a focus on creating community and social interaction presents opportunities for community development initiatives in urban environments. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Rotating Solar-Powered Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/a-solarpowered-bench-that-spins-ever-so-slowly.md) - [Rotating Solar Powered Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/eness-1.md) - [Kinetic Musical Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/musical-bench.md) - [Bold Motion Bench Installations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wheelbench-krllermller-edition.md) - [Dual-Seated Plate Aluminum Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/move-a-little-bit-further.md) - [Seesaw-Like Playful Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/balance-bench.md) - [Two-Person Seesaw Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/a-problem-halved.md) - [Muscle Loss-Combating Playground Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/playground-bench.md) - [Interaction-Promoting Public Benches](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bench-seating.md)