“We should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together in a higher unity” – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
That is what architects and industrial designers are capable of doing. Not only beautiful things but helpful and thoughtful.
We need them to include everyone and everything around us as a happy unity. The subreddit “Friendly Architecture” shares remarkable design concepts that are friendly concepts for everyone.
Viral Strange has collected 30 pictures of these thoughtful design concepts.
1. This railing on the gazebo in Naples has braille describing the view for blind people. More of this, please.
2. Public Bench with Pillow
3. Pool and Water Slide, Egmont Højskolen (“Folk High School”), Western Denmark.
4. These two coin lockers that are easily accessible in a wheelchair, Austria
5. Wildlife Overpass, Trans-Canada Highway, Banff National Park, Canada. The 38 passes and fencing have reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 80%
6. Homeless bench, Vancouver, Canada
7. In Norway, you get a small amount of money for recycling bottles/cans. They’re often collected by poor people, the homeless, etc. A lot of our trash cans have these holders around them, so people don’t have to search through the trash to collect them
8. Parent + Child library carrel, so you can do your research and keep your little one occupied. Fairfield Library, Virginia, USA.
9. They put rails under the benches in this park so you can always be in the shadow.
10. Recessed “pause space” for those with ASD providing an opportunity to control the amount of incoming information, UK
11. Solar park bench with USB charging ports.
12. Turtle Tunnels in Japan, protecting the turtles crossing train tracks and stopping trains from derailing due to turtles!!
13. My childhood doctor’s office has a mini door installed for younger patients
14. These public benches are reversible, so you can choose to look at people or boats.
15. Green Man+, a card & traffic light system to give people more time to cross at intersections, Singapore
16. Cover for bicycle saddle, so it doesn’t get wet when it rains
17. Bioswale, Seattle WA. (A channel to concentrate, clean, and move stormwater)
18. Teetertotters Slotted Through the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello
19. A bridge providing a bench in the fences in Shanghai
20. Trash cans for cyclists (Blikvanger), Netherlands
21. Wheelchair resting spot on a long hill. Also, a bench in a pinch.
22. Wheelchair-friendly sandboxes, various
23. A duck ramp is something we need more of
24. The Fruit Bus Stops of Nagasaki Prefecture (designed to showcase the agricultural output of the region)
25. This bench also works as a xylophone. Also, no dividers!
26. Wheelchair-accessible gardening. Used for garden therapy, rehab, and hospice. Developed in Douvres-la-Délivrande, France
27. Crab migration bridge, Christmas Island, Australia
28. Old City, Jerusalem added 4km of wheelchair-accessible routes in 2019 (and cleared it with UNESCO)
29. Super-accessible waterfront, Sirens Beach, Greece.
30. Good news for a change: friendly architecture
Do you find these concepts thoughtful? Tell us which one of these designs can have the biggest impact on daily life.