KINGSTON RIVERSIDE BENCHES

Six bespoke benches on Kingston’s riverside combine solid limestone bases with colourful, handmade terrazzo.

The terrazzo incorporates fragments of pottery, tile, brick and animal bone rescued from landfill through Recycle Archaeology. These excavated finds, which could not be housed in museum collections, become part of an everyday public object. Grinding and polishing reveal their colours, shapes and textures within the seating surfaces, bringing archaeological materials into view and use in the public realm.

121 Collective undertook the complete design, testing and making of the benches. A series of material samples explored how the archaeological fragments could be combined with other aggregates, testing different colours and compositions. This process developed a varied palette in which individual finds remain recognisable alongside the smaller particles that form the terrazzo.

The seats, backrests and armrests were developed as interlocking components, with prototypes used to resolve their forms and connections. Each terrazzo piece was individually cast, ground and finished at the Farm of Futures before being transported to the riverside for assembly and installation.

The smooth terrazzo sits against the rough, irregular surfaces of the limestone bases. Variations in the stone, the coloured mixes and the distribution of archaeological fragments give each bench its own character while connecting the six through a shared family of materials and forms.

The completed benches form part of a wider, ongoing public realm proposal led by Hayatsu Architects for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.