Street Seats: Urban Meets Vibrant

JUNE 15, 2018 | PORTLAND, OR

Street Seats: Urban Benches for Vibrant Cities, from Design Museum Portland, is a design challenge culminating in a public, outdoor exhibition that celebrates local and international design talent, civic innovation, and sustainability. Participants from around the world were asked to reimagine the public bench. Entries were submitted from 6 continents, 24 countries, and 22 U.S. states for a chance to be one of 15 Semi-Finalist chosen designs to be fabricated and installed around the World Trade Center and Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, OR.

After learning of this unique, mission-driven design challenge, ACME was thrilled to hop on board as a partner with Design Museum Portland in the production & fabrication of their Model Gallery Opening Reception. The reception showcased all bench model entries, as well as the reveal of the 15 Semi-Finalist benches chosen to be fabricated. Our teams joined forces to transform a vacant retail/restaurant space at the World Trade Center into a polished and vibrant gallery space. In the spirit of re-use and sustainability we were able to craft display shelving for the 200+ models by upcycling metal framed units from our client at Nike. These blank canvas metal shelving units were transformed using raw plywood and in-house lighting. Footwear display shelves were also transformed into a central gallery space to display the 15 Semi-Finalists. We couldn’t do what we do without our partners, including the ever amazing Greenlight Creative and their transformative lighting! Additionally, our very own VP of Sales & Marketing, Suzy Alexander, was chosen to be a member of the hand-selected jury to select the winning entries.

We loved every minute of this collaboration and cannot wait to see the life-size benches! The 15 Semi-Finalist designs will be fabricated and installed around the World Trade Center and Tom McCall Waterfront Park to make up the 6-month outdoor exhibition. Click here to learn more about the why behind the 15 semi-finalists benches and be sure to mark your calendar for that exhibition launch on August 4, 2018, where the top 3 finalists will be announced.

For more information on Design Museum Portland visit designmuseumfoundation.org.