1. Final Slides

2. Introduction of the Work

This project looks at how a very ordinary object—the public bench—can show patterns of behaviour, emotion, and social interaction in everyday city life. Through on-site observation, short interviews, photographs, and an emotion-mapping exercise, I recorded how different people choose their seats, how long they stay, and what they feel while sitting there.

During the research, I noticed small but repeated differences: women often stopped for a short rest while pushing strollers, middle-aged men gathered at the benches deeper inside the park to play cards, and many people chose the three-quarter position of the bench for a sense of comfort and semi-privacy. These small habits formed a quiet system of their own, showing how environment, routine and social roles shape the way people use public space.

By turning these observations into visual maps and individual “bench profiles,” the project suggests that even simple pieces of public furniture carry memory. They collect traces of daily life—where people sit, how long they stay, and the moods they bring with them—and together these details reveal a slower, more intimate rhythm of the city.

3. Questionnaire Survey

4. Observation Diary

5. Final Work