Wanted: Local artists and crafters to design benches for downtown park

If the Jackson Hole area had remained an untouched valley within the surrounding mountain scape, we would see an area organized by vegetation, rivers and streams, buttes and valleys, and groves of varying trees. If the Jackson area had remained untouched what might act as a bench to someone discovering the area? An embankment, a large rock, a fallen tree?

To further celebrate the preservation of the Greenspace on The Block, we wondered if we could call back to surrounding natural landscape. We thought of the bench as not a man-made object placed, but a natural object found and occupied. The bench design re-purposes a fallen tree by abducting it from the forrest and placing it in an urban park. The only interference of the tree would be the subtly detailed steel back and armrests and the textured treatment to the "seat".

We saw this competition as an opportunity to not only create the bench, but an interactive sculpture that directly reminds us of the fleeting yet enduring qualities of nature. The bench offered something for all ages, older generations enjoy a moment to relax, while the youth can investigate, play, and climb. The branches of the tree might break, the bark might strip, and moss might grow, and seasons will do their work, but the bench will always be in context.

As you walk onto The Greenspace on the Block. You might notice not only one, but two of the benches designed by the team at Prospect Studio. We won the design award and enjoy leaving a lasting impression on those who enjoy the trees bench.