Being from the U.S. of A where outdoor chairs seem to be a dime a dozen, or, perhaps more to the point, where we’re more accustomed to throwing down a blanket or towel in order to claim a section of beach or park, I’m not that familiar with the concept of “rent a chair.” Across the pond however—as designer Thomas Bernstrand is quick to point out—chair space in the continent’s great open parks is at a premium. To wit, the Share Chair concept by Berstrand for Nola—“lightweight outdoor seats designed to nest within each other as they attach to an immovable base.”

Share Chair. Designed by Thomas Bernstrand. Manufactured by Nola.

Thomas Bernstrand’s Share Chairs Up the Versatility Quotient of the Fixed Park Bench

The Share Chair arose as a solutions-oriented approach to a common problem in outdoor public spaces, the lack of seating options. Of course, a fixed bench under a shady canopy of trees is possessed of a particular ambiance, but what if you’d like to turn to face the sun (or escape it)? Loose chairs give users the desired versatility, but, unfortunately, no incentive for same to tidy up when they’re done.

Bernstrand’s Share Chair finds the perfect middle ground. These attractive, durable, and lightweight outdoor seats nest together… “like the attachable trolleys used in supermarkets and airports, the chairs are equipped with coin-operated locking mechanisms that link them together when not in use.” This not only makes storage easy, it also gives users an incentive to return the chairs whence they came, as coins are returned when users link the chairs back together with their neighbors.

Bernstrand hit upon the idea for the Share Chair while visiting parks in Paris, as the public works of that particular city often provides loose chairs for the use and enjoyment of the throngs. The problem, however, as Bernstrand observed, is that the chairs frequently end up scattered haphazard and “he felt sorry for the person who had to move them to mow the grass.”

The Share Chair abolishes that particular problem without sacrificing the allure of a comfy chair in a favored spot amid a broad swath of green—it’s a smart and savvy contribution to the indispensable public resource of parks and recreation.

Via Dezeen.

About the Manufacturer: Stockholm-based Nola lives in the outdoors. Their design niche is the man-made outdoor environment, and to that end they “design and deliver quality products that make urban environments a little bit more beautiful, and a whole lot easier to live in.” Nola’s line includes benches, chairs, and tables, not to mention planters, tree guards, trellises, and bike racks—if it’s part of the pedestrian infrastructure of the city, Nola would like to have a hand in it.