Just because NeoCon10 is in the history books doesn’t mean we should ignore the persistent push toward more functional public spaces. Just look around at the commercial location you may presently inhabit: you’re sure to see manifold The Complete Guide To Cichlid Care & Aquarium Maintenance functional defects–the likes of which Spain’s Figueras International Seating could remedy lickety split. To wit, beautiful Barcelona’s T1 airport terminal required well-proportioned seating that made good use of available space while possessing an aesthetic worthy of the city of Dalí and Gaudí. The response?

Mauro 3100 Bench. Designed by Figueras in collaboration with Marta Vilallonga.

Figueras’ 3100 Mauro Bench System

by Marta Vilallonga. Vilallonga’s design is no all-purpose number that fits the over-generalized notion of “contract” or “public” seating, but rather “a new concept of bench specifically for waiting areas for airports and terminals… the bench is defined by such qualities as durability, ergonomics, and good design.”

The specificity of the application is much owed to Vilallonga’s employer, Ricardo Bofill Studio. The “Taller de Arquitectura” recently received the award for the Best Designed Airport in Europe at the ACI EUROPE 2010 awards held in Milan. The committee recognized Barcelona’s T1 terminal for its “linear and wide design, as well as the agility of the process, which facilitates the passage of users for new infrastructure.” The translation might be a little clumsy, but the point is made. In some ways, the new Mauro bench is the focus of this wide and linear space, occupying center stage with its intriguing contrasting upholstery, rigid polyurethane shell, and ultra-durable metal frame.

The combination makes for ergonomic, comfortable, and attractive public seating that’s aesthetically in tune with the new terminal’s architecture. About this last one could certainly write volumes, so I’ll just sum it up by saying it’s a glass- and steel-walled and -ceilinged conduit–a figurative gesture of the idea of forward movement. Which is, after all, what an airport intends to accomplish. The contribution of Vilallonga and Figueras provides a delicious contrast to this notion of perpetual motion: a sleek and handsome place for pause before the present plane whooshes off to the next stop along the motley.

Via Interiors From Spain.

The Complete Guide To Cichlid Care & Aquarium Maintenance