Smart Bench
A smart illumination bench for Cyberport Waterfront Park — somewhere to rest that also lights the path.
- Year
- 2023
- Reading
- 03 min
- Figures
- 06
Cyberport Waterfront Park in Hong Kong has almost no lighting around its seating, which makes it feel unsafe after dark. I redesigned its bench: wooden slats that follow the body’s resting curve, held by carved side frames with vivid blue LEDs. Developed through sketches, foam models, Fusion 360 CAD and FEA, the final design was rendered in Blender and approved by Cyberport Committees.
- Role
- Research, design, CAD & rendering
- Disciplines
- Industrial Design
- Urban Furniture
- Lighting
- CAD + FEA
- Tools
- Fusion 360 / FEA / Blender / Foam modelling / Hand sketching
In my neighbourhood there is a splendid park, Cyberport Waterfront Park. It was my regular haunt — playing fetch with my dog, unwinding on a bench till late at night. But looking at it through a designer’s lens, I saw that the bench had a real flaw: there was hardly any light around it to see by after dark.
Security after dark
For public parks, security is a critical issue, particularly at night. Around 85% of the information people receive comes through vision; inadequate lighting makes people feel insecure, so they avoid poorly lit areas.
Despite its vast space, Cyberport Waterfront Park is known for minimal lighting, especially around its seating — a threat to the safety of the people who use it. Out of concern for my community, I set out to redesign the park’s benches.
Seven sketches, three foam models, one bench
The ideal bench had two goals: attract people to rest, and provide ample light along the pathways to guide them at night.
I began by sketching seven initial designs, scrutinising each against my design specification. Three refined designs went into foam, modelled around a mannequin to judge their visual form — shape, line, proportion — and their practical function: curvature, stability and space.
The chosen designs then became CAD models in Fusion 360, where I ran FEA studies under compression forces.
7
initial designs sketched
3
refined designs foam-modelled on a mannequin
1,200 mm
maximum length, seating up to four
85%
of the information people receive comes through vision
Minimal form, carved light
After testing and evaluation, the final bench was chosen: a modern, minimalist form with wooden slats arranged to fit the body’s natural resting curvature, and vivid blue LED lighting in the side frames to illuminate the surroundings.
I documented it as a five-sheet orthographic drawing set at 1:10, then rendered the final design in Blender. It gained approval from Cyberport Committees.
Fig. 02Sheet 1/5 — overall view
Fig. 03Sheet 2/5 — side frame
Fig. 04Sheet 4/5 — seat
Fig. 05Sheet 5/5 — backrest
Developed drawing
- 01
Resting curve
The backrest keeps a natural curvature for resting, carried over from Design C.
- 02
Draining slats
The wood planks are split into seat and backrest sections so water drains away better.
- 03
Integrated handle
The handle is built seamlessly into the side frame instead of added on.
- 04
Less material
Holes cut out of the frames reduce material use and production cost.
- 05
Carved light
Every LED sits on the irregular carved surfaces, so light reaches the sides and the ground without getting in the way of sitting.
- 06
95th percentile
The seat is raised further off the ground so both long- and short-legged users can sit comfortably.
- 07
Weatherproof
Both the wood planks and the side frames are non-toxic and waterproof.
- 08
Trade-off
The rigid, faceted form comes at a cost: its edges cannot be rounded.
