Among the roster of attractive new pieces on display at Leland’s 3rd floor space at #NeoCon09, my allegorist’s eye lands on the Cricket Bench, designer Bruce Sienkowski’s contract piece for Leland that “features a dynamic assembly of steel rods to support the segmented seating surfaces.” Available in linear or serpentine configurations, Cricket’s intent is to project an aesthetic of exposed structure, thus reflecting the architectural grids of buildings with buttressed ceilings or exposed steel piers.

Cricket Bench. Designed by Bruce Sienkowski for Leland International.

The look makes Cricket ideal for public spaces—the turn-of-the-century industrialism of Paris’ Musee d’Orsay immediately comes to mind. Cricket’s structural aesthetic has an additional boon: joined by “minor pieces” of thin steel shafts and a central cylindrical rod, the bench looks spare and light, deeding it a “fresh, organic personality” quite befitting the cheerful, segmented insect that is its namesake.