idealist » Word up!

Word up!

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A street bench made of thermoplastic elastomer pages. When dirty or wet, just turn the page like a book to seat on dry surface.

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24 Comments for: “Word up!”

jeff Says:

Oh man, thats pretty amazing.
ratemus Says:

great for homeless dudes, out there every day scratching a living from fighting other hobos for food
patti Says:

Nice design…but I think the extra page would be too much extra cost for a public project…and it would be vulnerable to breakage. why not invest the extra money in making sure the plastic repels water….making it so that the rain rolls off the plastic. This would simplify the design, prevent future damages in the extra hardware, and cost ALOT less for the city to make…and we all know that government funded projects need to be as sufficient and inexpensive as possible in order to get approval!
christie Says:

wow brilliant!
Abb Says:

if you flipped the ‘page’ as it occurs in the image, from where it is now back over to the left, wouldn’t it be inverse of the peice below it?
rogerXD Says:

I don’t think so,
the “page” is made with a thermoplastic elastomer,
so my guess is that it would bend with the gravity…
…adapting its shape to each side.
zarboki Says:

A nice initial idea but you will trap the water between the two surfaces that are wet when you flip them together. It needs a more textured surface and holes for drainage. Why specify “thermoplastic” though, it is not like we would think it was thermoset?
abhijit bairagi Says:

great observation. really cool stuff
Lex Python Says:

I’m not sure if I would like to find what’s trapped between the pages on a Sunday morning.

Maybe if it came with a butler.
Melissa Says:

Despite the obvious flaws, it is a neat idea, and I would love to see it.
arjen Says:

I like the idea but I dont think it works because nasty stuff wil get between the pages and the water between can not get away and will stink so it makes the problem worse, but youre almost there…
Rod R. Says:

Looks cool, but what if both of the sides are wet? :S
Nate Says:

Useless except for the first time it is used. After that, both pages are dirty or wet. Basically, you lose the back of a chair for an essentially useless feature.
Aspen Says:

nice design, but EWWW ALL THE BACTERIA THAT WOULD BREW under the wet page, not being dryed up! You’d start to see black spots immediately! Then, who will REALLY want to sit on it?
Semia Says:

Benches would be paperless in no time!!
dave Says:

heat & cold will render this seat useless in short order,idea is good ,but only on paper
no comon sense used in this design………this seat is a bacteriological nightmare
craig Says:

Yeah i like it, homeless people will be able to use the pages as blankets as well.
Brenda Mooney Says:

I can’t believe that so many are discussing the benefits of this design for homeless people! here’s a thought….use the money for funding housing projects; something tells me homeless people may prefer a roof over there heads as opposed to a cold wet sheet of plastic!
glamjets Says:

A post-it pad would be a rotten public fixture.
As a passerby I would hate to feel obligated to “turn the page” on someone’s vomit.
SupaGal! Says:

Thanks Brenda. At last someone sensible! and just for the record, I think it’s a great design but only for particulars. Because I’m 99% sure that even if you guys complain about bacterias, dirty-greasy papers left on banks or parks, stains of coffee or dirt on public seats, you’re all are neither the firsts or the lasts to leave a ‘trail’…….
Watchmen Says:

cool stuff, but it would be impossible to implement (
Chris Says:

I find that idea very nice!
But I wouldn’t use that for public benches, but more like in my garden! ^_^
spaz Says:

so…apparenty this thing cleans itself?
Shran Says:

Nice Idea, but… is it vandal-proof ?