Edro: A Fusion of Function and Aesthetics in Street Furniture

MrSmith Studio's Award-Winning Design Merges Nature and Urban Spaces

The inspiration behind Edro was to create a street furniture system that not only serves a functional purpose but also enhances the aesthetic appeal of urban spaces. The design features clean, essential surfaces that highlight the tangency between the bench and the vase. The central focus of the system is the plants, encouraging people to gather around them and share in the beauty and beneficial effects of nature.

What sets Edro apart from other street furniture systems is its unique combination of a vase and a bench, with nature at the heart of the design. The bench's seat is created with two planes inclined towards the center, where a recessed drainage channel funnels rainwater into the vase. This original shape forms the basis of the entire system, with a little recessed step lifting the whole element to give it a lighter, willowy look.

Edro is made from Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC), with an optional wooden seat. The dimensions and weights of the system's elements vary, allowing for flexibility in its application across different urban spaces. The system is designed to be simple to interact with, inviting users to sit on the bench and relax under the shade of the plant contained in the vase.

The project was developed over four months, between Milano and Treviso. It began with extensive research on street furniture and urban landscape design, followed by a focus on materials and techniques, which led to the decision to use UHPC. The challenge was to design a system that could seamlessly merge nature and city, in response to the changing ways of living in urban spaces.

Edro's design has been recognized with a Golden A' Street and City Furniture Design Award in 2018, a prestigious accolade granted to outstanding creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. These venerated products and bright ideas advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics. The design is patented, with all intellectual property and copyright credits belonging to MrSmith Studio.