Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
Many things shape the face of a city: buildings, bridges, parks, sculptures... even benches! That's right, this simple form of public furniture can also add more emotion to a particular site.
Bored Panda created this list of unusual bench designs to illustrate that creativity can transform busy streets into cozy communal living rooms. Whether you're grabbing a quick lunch, or waiting for your date, these benches will definitely brighten your day!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Park In Vöcklabruck, Austria
Nikki Stevens 9 years ago
Hope the water level doesn't permenantly rise lol. Awesome though I'd sit my derriere there!
over opinionated 9 years ago
That's amazing. The view at duck eye level would be beautiful. Just not a good idea to visit on a windy day.
Little letitia 8 years ago
I wanna be the one throwing big a*s rocks from the lakeside to land close to the edge of the "bench"
RELATED:
#2
Bench In Kiev, Ukraine
Ivan Ivanovich 9 years ago
please mister "shodawouda", make us a new one just like you said. hello from Kiev
Load More Replies...
Maggie Grover Bacher 9 years ago
and then you sit down and the hands grab you and pull you down under the concrete to become a statue somewhere else.
over opinionated 9 years ago
Looks like someone was trying to use something to pull themselves out of the wet cement before it dried and didn't make it.
#3
Paprocany Lake Shore Redevelopment
Maggie Grover Bacher 9 years ago
i bet it's fun to sit and watch people try to get back out of it
Sylwia Janiak 9 years ago
I've been there! POLSKA! Huge warning, you have to balance your body and spread it out when you sit, otherwise your butt will literally touch the water beneath the net XD I know, and so do my cousins XD
#4
Rotating Bench Keeps The Seat Dry After Rain
Здравко Здравко 9 years ago
Now you can remove a HOBO from a bench, without even touching him ... BRILLIANT !
Modestas Rinkevičius 9 years ago
Water will still reach the bottom because of surface tension. Unless you use "NeverWet" spray, but that defeats the purpose of this design.
#5
The Blue Carpet In Newcastle, England
Becky Jones 9 years ago
I sat on one like this at a museum, then was told it was a work of art not a bench. Had to get off... lol
Scott Donohue 9 years ago
Unfortunately the blue carpet ended up being a public art nightmare. All of the blue dye washed out and the piece generally looks a mess.
over opinionated 9 years ago
Cool. Make the black rectangle a flower bed... any excuse for more flowers in a city.
#6
Creative Park Bench, Massachusetts
summersault vj 9 years ago
yes. you can charge your phone here or get some lighting in the evening. this power cord you see in the last pic is attached to the foundation where battery pack is.
Load More Replies...
LaDarryl Hollingsworth 9 years ago
If's there one thing i've learned it's the BUGS LIKE LIGHTS!
#7
Bench By Alleswirdgut Architektur, Luxembourg
#8
Whale Tail Bench
Kat Blak 9 years ago
I sit on that bench every year when I go to Santa Barbara. Don't sit in the middle.
#9
Typewriter Bench
Peter Kealey 9 years ago
Be even more interesting if the keys were actually connected to a print output (or a screen).
#10
Bench Out Of Pencils In Kiev, Ukraine
over opinionated 9 years ago
That's too cute. I'm picturing that in a playground at a preschool or daycare.
#11
Off-ground, Copenhagen, Denmark
Little letitia 8 years ago
"I'll just sit down for ten minutes,my shopping bags are... *17 hours later* WHA...Whaa...What the f**k where am I, who am I!?
Sharisimone Hampton 8 years ago
Great use of things that can be re-purposed into something functional!!! And just one solution for less waste!
Heather Cox 9 years ago
This would never happen in Canada. I think it's actually illegal to sleep in public and cities and establishments try to make seating only comfortable enough to be tolerated for a short time. Even some benches have been removed.
#12
The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe Book Bench, London
Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
How would a city look if all the benches were fairytale-like as this one? <3
Hetal Vyas 9 years ago
They could dedicate each bench to a writer from that city! Education, comfort and decorative
Load More Replies... 
Adrian Jones 9 years ago
There were 50 in total, scattered around London for a while. Then they were auctioned for charity. http://www.booksabouttown.org.uk/
#13
Custom Curve Seats, Cadigal Green, University Of Sydney, Australia
#14
Seats In The Shape Of A Tulip By Tulpi Design
Peter Kealey 9 years ago
No more uncomfortable than most ordinary park benches.
Load More Replies... Sharisimone Hampton 8 years ago
I love making those eye sore objects into a more colorful and appealing sight. Subtle changes to things that are observed routinely in our lives become enhancing to our environment, rather than the otherwise mundane and accepted for what they are everyday sights.
Peitto Burrito 9 years ago
I wonder if it 's good for old people, who need benches and seats the most.
#15
Musical Bench
Kirsten Preston 8 years ago
It would be someone's (misfor)tune if I tried to play those keys :P
#16
El Poeta Bench By Alfredo Häberli
#17
Bus Stop Bench
Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
I would climb to the first ''hole'' of the letter B! Would probably miss the bus tho... ;-)
Maggie Grover Bacher 9 years ago
i would be up top in the b. . . . or sliding on the s. yep, i just missed the bus as well
Load More Replies... Little letitia 8 years ago
This is equally amazing and an impractical excessive use of wood, but non the less LOVE IT!
Karol Olson 9 years ago
Was wondering if this one would make the list. It's in Baltimore and is even more impressive in real life.
valery77 2 years ago
Thanks! for telling the place. Why people always upload pictures without telling where?!
Load More Replies... #18
Swinging Bench By Neulhae Cho
over opinionated 9 years ago
That looks so fun! It gives you an excuse to be a kid again... even for a minute.
#19
888 Brannan Office Building In San Francisco
valery77 2 years ago
Actually, they look made from soft material, look at the picture well, the lady that fold her legs on the top.
Load More Replies... #20
Creative Bench
#21
Kansas City Public Library Stairs
over opinionated 9 years ago
There not stairs either and you are probably meant to sit on them.
Load More Replies... #22
Soft Bench By Lucile Soufflet
Cassie 9 years ago
Is it actually soft or just shaped on one side? It looks shaped to me. Otherwise, the lady wouldn't be able to just sit like the image depicts. I think the title is just misleading.
Load More Replies...
Speranta Regasire 9 years ago
This gives you the perfect excuse to sleep like a homeless...looks very confortable...
Kristi Zoebelein 9 years ago
Not soft, just shaped. Otherwise she would have caused it to go down in the top photo, and in the bottom photo the person's whole body would be equally sunk into the bench.
over opinionated 9 years ago
I'd freak the first time sitting on this. I'd expect a hard surface like every other bench.
Luis Milian 9 years ago
not in the USA. they will not do this for the public to avoid homeless people to sleep on them.
Janice Foster 9 years ago
Which is a pity, coz they look so comfy! I wonder if there's also a risk of objects falling off a bench when someone else sits on it
Load More Replies... #23
Glassconcrete Bench By Zoltan Bencze & Szovetseg'39, Pecs, Hungary
#24
Lungo Mare Bench
Jessica Bertram 9 years ago
Look closely...there are drain holes in each depression.
Load More Replies... #25
Double Doily, New York, Ny
#26
Book Bench In Paris
#27
Benches With Big Hats, Marseille, France
Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
:''''''''''''D So funny but perfect for some shadow on the hot days!
#28
The State Of The Pulse At Rest, International Garden Show Hamburg
#29
Benches In Exhibition At The Sheldon Art Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri
over opinionated 9 years ago
I'd probably get in trouble but I'd have to jump my bike off one.
Thi Bu 9 years ago
I hope to see the result of your jump here on bored panda!
Load More Replies... Katie Wright 9 years ago
This is clearly the Memorial at the Pentagon. If you look in the background you can see names inscribed on the benches. You can also see the tokens left on and around the benches as people do at a memorial. This is a PICTURE that was used in an exhibition at Sheldon Art Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri. The exhibition featured contemporary landscape architecture. It was presented through photographs and drawings, and was held in 2011 .
Bianca Nurton 9 years ago
These are the pentagon benches. There is no place at the Sheldon that would be capable of exhibiting benches like that.
#30
Tree Bench Of Tree Bench, Seattle, Usa
#31
Robot Bench In Enschede, Netherlands
Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
Plot twist: It's not a bench! It's just a robot resting on the ground! ;-)
over opinionated 9 years ago
Transformers are supposed to be robots in disguise... maybe he's just not very good at hiding.
#32
Creative Benches In New York
Lucas Victor da Silva 9 years ago
it remembers the bench/door in a brasilian sitcon called Castelo Rá tim bum, the Nino's room has a door whom is a bench too.
Load More Replies...
#33
Letter Bench, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, England
over opinionated 9 years ago
I wish i could have seen all the words I'd have liked to have read the whole thing
Judy Semmens 9 years ago
...I would like you to know what a wonderful job all the members of staff on that ward are doing, they were kind, polite and caring, no job was too much for them to make my stay on the ward as comfortable as possible.
Load More Replies...
#34
Funny City Bench, Bangkok
Dats A Gator 9 years ago
"Bruh like I didn't ask for your huge white teeth to be here like wtf"
#35
Creative Bench
over opinionated 9 years ago
I'm glad he isn't painted to look like a person too. It'd freak out a few drunks lol.
Zoria Polunoczaja 9 years ago
After a few drinks it wouldn't matter he's not painted, I'd freak out anyway ;)
Load More Replies... 
#36
Bench On Acid
Anita Kuhnhenn 9 years ago
We end up as Adults... But every once in a while.. We can slide back into being a Child.
#37
Benches In Riva Promenade Of Croatian City Split
#38
Garabatos, Series Of Benches By Pablo Reinoso
Little letitia 8 years ago
like a child won a scalextrix competition and got to design one inanimate object, no holes barred!
#39
Diy Urban Bench
#40
Lightwave, A Sculptural Bench In Ithaca, NY
JEFF THE KILLER 9 years ago
When dont have a jacket but u find a random bench that gives you heat...... sweet relief
#41
Creative Public Bench
#42
Circular Bench Bruxelles
#44
Buttmunches, San Francisco Ferry Plaza, CA
Evisa Isabella Rose 9 years ago
Look at the difference between the first bench, standing there all miserable and gray. Αnd the little monster ones, standing out all happy and colourful!!! ;-)
over opinionated 9 years ago
There crochet bench cozies I was screwing around on Google one day and saw them under weird crochet. I love thesse
#45
Sail Benches, Vercheres, Canada
Little letitia 8 years ago
Again, lovely as they are seems like an excessive use of precious trees!
JEFF THE KILLER 9 years ago
row row row your boat gentle down the grass merely merely merely lifes a but a dream.
#46
Mountain Inspired Benches
#47
The Tree Bench In The Netherlands
Little letitia 8 years ago
this is beautiful, the wraps are there allowing the tree to grow and expand over years without suffocation or damage to such a majestic life force!
#48
Modern Bamboo Bench In New York
#49
Benches In Jean Baptiste Lebas Park, Lille, France
#50
Light Bench In Barcelona
Dats A Gator 9 years ago
Please tell me I'm not the only one that for some reason can only focus on the fries
#51
Space Inbetween By Worapong Manupipatpong
#52
Swan Bench In Amsterdam
Little letitia 8 years ago
Very rustic and almost antique looking, adds to the beauty of what the want to be an aged, weathered piece of art.
#53
Social Bench
Pedro Correa 9 years ago
This can be really nice for a family that has someoene in a wheel chair and the person in the wheelchair wants to sit between both of them
#54
Unire/Unite In Rome, Italy
#55
Bench Go Round, San Francisco
Heather Cox 9 years ago
This looks fun until you get an a*****e sitting next to you that wants the bench to stay put
#58
Piano Bench In Andrassy Ave, Budapest
Robert Herczeg 9 years ago
while I've sat on this bench personally, and I agree that it is nice, that it's not the same as all the others, but really it's just a regular bench that was painted when the museum moved there. Not particularly creative.
#59
Concrete Bench At New York Botanical Garden, Bronx
John McGall 5 years ago
Anyone know who designed this? I have the same exact bench. johnnynono(at)gmail(dot)com
#60
Unique Public Bench
Maggie Grover Bacher 9 years ago
you sit down and tell it where to go and it walks off and gives you a ride
#61
Sustainable Wooden Bench In United Kingdom
#63
Claude Ponti Bench, Nantes, France
Final score:
23points
#64
Steora - Solar Smart Bench With Phone Charger And Internet
Final score:
23points
#65
Flexible Seating By Izabela Bołoz, Gdynia, Poland
Heather Cox 9 years ago
What happens when you buy a bunch of shelves, tables and benches from IKEA and you have no clue how to assemble them
#66
Bench In London
#67
Portable Bench In London
#68
Montenegro - City Kotor
Final score:
20points
#69
Walking Down The Street In Seoul - South Korea
Final score:
20points
#70
National Taiwan University Hospital Station,taipei,taiwan
Final score:
19points
#71
The Wanderest - A Seat That Attaches To Existing Circular Or Octagonal Lamp Posts
Judy Semmens 9 years ago
This reminds me of the seats in some of our bus stops. They have been designed to be uncomfortable, so that homeless people don't sleep on them.
#73
X- Shaped Loungers In Times Square, Nyc
Final score:
17points
#74
Water Bench Collects And Stores Rainwater
#77
Klaipeda
Final score:
13points
#78
Beer Bottle Bench, Qingdao, China
Final score:
11points
#80
Modified Social Benches In Ny
#81
On A Lap - Amersfoort, The Netherlands (2003 Henk Visch)
Final score:
9points
#82
London Bench
Catalina Ioan 9 years ago
Umm... These seem downright painful if you miss the "seat". Doesn't look like very inspired design to me.
DE Ray 9 years ago
That sort of design is for preventing people from laying on the bench, much the same as the "anti-homeless" spikes some property owners put in their doorways. Is it beautiful? Only in the manner of a well-swung nightstick or a perfectly polished jackboot.
Catalina Ioan 9 years ago
That last bit seems like a perfectly accurate description
Load More Replies...
#83
Red Rock Bench, Calgary Canada
Final score:
5points
#85
Bicycle Bench - Dublin (ireland)
Final score:
4points
#86
Shark Girl Bench, Canalside, New York
Final score:
3points
#88
"V" Shaped Bench In Belgium
Dàhlia DM 8 years ago
It's part of the "Social Bench" series, a study related to the behaviour at the urban space.. I don't particularly like the second one (I also was like WTF), but it's interesting to know why! :) http://www.jeppehein.net/pages/project_id.php?path=works&id=102
Load More Replies... 
#90
Corniche Beach, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Final score:
0points
#91
Wellington Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Final score:
-1point
Gale Tytlandsvik 2 years ago
I love weird, but for some reason the simplicity of this is probably my fav! Like sitting at the kitchen table, ready for a good visit!
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Johanna-Nicollette Kidd 8 years ago
These benches are really cool, I especially like the 'walking thru water' ones! What happens if the water level rises howerver?
Keith Ward 9 years ago
I saw a picture and video of a bench more than 10 years ago that I have never been able to find anything on since. I think it was in New York and had a cantilever beam that ran under the road. When someone sat on the bench a statue or sculpture on the other side of the road would stand up. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Johanna-Nicollette Kidd 8 years ago
These benches are really cool, I especially like the 'walking thru water' ones! What happens if the water level rises howerver?
Keith Ward 9 years ago
I saw a picture and video of a bench more than 10 years ago that I have never been able to find anything on since. I think it was in New York and had a cantilever beam that ran under the road. When someone sat on the bench a statue or sculpture on the other side of the road would stand up. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
You May Like 115 Creative Wall Décor Ideas To Jazz Up Your Home Space 139 Design Quotes That Are A True Celebration Of Creativity 50 Flaws Of The Human Body, As Shared By People In This Online Community
Karolina Kondratavičiūtė
Saimonas Lukošius
Eligijus Sinkunas
Related on Bored Panda
