Bloom is a park and street furniture piece designed for young people who don’t feel at home in traditional sports areas—offering a welcoming space where conversation is the main activity. Early observations showed that groups naturally gather on informal surfaces like stairs and raised platforms rather than straight benches, which tend to line up users and weaken eye contact beyond three people. Bloom’s open, circular form brings users face-to-face while still allowing personal space negotiation:

Its front half lets people sit angled away from one another, creating a comfortable buffer. Its sculptural silhouette and repetitive “petal” elements make it instantly recognizable—“let’s meet at the big flower seat”—and enable dynamic configurations when multiple units are linked. By balancing proxemics principles with inclusive, durable design, Bloom transforms underused urban areas into true third-spaces for dialogue and community.

Since our concept was a bit unconventional, I thought it necessary to build a functional full-scale model (center) quickly after this direction was chosen. This offered a great way to test and observe peoples interactions with the furniture piece, and confirm whether it was viable as a product or not. This model was tested and observed over multiple weeks, and it was met with a lot of appreciation and praise from those using it—giving us confidence in the final outcome.

Being made from repeated parts, Blooms design simplifies both fabrication and maintenance. This construction also allows Bloom to be assembled and shipped in different ways. From halves—requiring minimal assembly on location, to fully flat-packed— saving greatly on packing volume and transportation costs.

Bloom

Vegard Tufto Wik

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