The University of Johannesburg wanted to celebrate their 10 year anniversary with a legacy concrete furniture piece. They turned to the Industrial Design department to do just that. 

The Invertebrate bench is made up from a series of identical segments strung like a string of beads onto a steel cable and secured on either end. The center of the individual segment feature a ball and socket joint with a horizontal slot. This allows for the segments to swivel which makes it possible for the bench to curve into dramatic curves. 

Finding the correct shape that can accommodate two people sitting back to back with adequate space for feet underneath the seat was the biggest challenge with this design. Most profiles resembled stylised people finding themselves in precarious circumstances. Finally I settled on an airplane shape with less connotative meaning.. Moreover, the shape lose all resemblance to the airplane shape as soon as they are strung together.

 

The seat is slightly angled to support the they and the backrest is also angled at 10o for comfort. The units can also be strung upside down to incorporate a table or armrests.

 

Colour could also be incorporated with varying tones and colours coordinated to give a beautiful knitted effect.