Public Art Benches-Tansley Woods Park, Burlington, ON
Burlington Public Art
Tansley Woods Park is vibrant community park that in the summer and fall of 2019 will undergo a major renewal. As part of that renewal, the City of Burlington invited professional artists to submit park bench design proposals for a series of benches that will be installed in Tansley Woods Park (4100 Kilmer Dr, Burlington, ON). Artists were asked to submit a proposal for three (3) designs that will be used to produce custom laser cut panels that will be installed in the backrest of the benches. In collaboration with my talented engineer and fabricator husband Doug, our tree concept was selected as the winning design. Photo mock-up of bench design created using photoshop.
Design Rationale
The bench design is about our relationship with trees, celebrating and educating others about old growth forests found in the surrounding escarpment. Trees are essential for all life forms: providing necessary food, shelter from the elements, removing the excess carbon from the air and supplying products. Too many trees have been removed to accommodate the massive construction boom. We need to plant more trees, replace the ones that have been ripped from the soil and save the ones that are still standing. Old growth forests cannot be replaced and are essential for our survival. Our proposed design celebrates the old growth trees by illustrating their character in three distinct ways. With the benches being in close proximity to the play structure, the proposed designs can serve as educational tools to start a conversation with young children about the importance of trees.
©Kim Collins
