The Art of the Possible: Link
New from Landscape Forms, the Link seating system presents a new opportunity for designers of outdoor spaces: to achieve the scalability, elegance and creative freedom of custom, one-off site furnishings with added value and simplicity of off-the-shelf solutions. Link’s uniquely adaptable design and modular components easily accommodate the constraints and nuances of any given site, both physically and aesthetically.
Caption: Link enables
virtually limitless configurations to elegantly complement a wide variety of landscapes.
“Link is about liberation. We want to offer landscape architects the creative
freedom to craft tailored solutions that mesh seamlessly with their environments.”
—Jess Sorel,
Link Designer and Principal at sorelstudio
Link is a collaboration between Landscape Forms and sorelstudio, a renowned
furniture design consultancy focused on developing solutions for office, healthcare, higher education,
hospitality and outdoor environments. A kindred spirit of Landscape Forms, Jess Sorel’s creative work lies
at the intersection of his artful approach and keen technical understanding. Driven by his desire to
understand the context in which objects are made and used, Sorel’s primary focus is on interpreting the
world around him as the evolution of culture and technology impact the way we live, work and play. Sorel’s
work has been recognized both domestically and internationally with numerous industry awards and has been
featured in Abitare, Azure, Blueprint, Contract, Domus, Dwell, Fast Company, I.D. Magazine, Interior Design
and Metropolis.
Caption: Link’s Designer and
Principal of sorelstudio, Jess Sorel.
"In designing Link, we were inspired by the concept of inevitability,” describes
Jess Sorel. "Well-designed custom site furnishings integrate so elegantly and seamlessly into a landscape
that they convey a ‘meant-to-be quality’—the feeling that they simply could not be designed any other way.
With Link, we wanted to achieve this feeling of inevitable design, allowing for the ideal solution for any
given space through flexibility, modularity and adaptability, just like a custom solution.”
Link enables descriptive, not prescriptive design. Its adaptable, modular nature
seamlessly accommodates the real-life needs, aesthetics and topography of a given landscape rather than
forcing that landscape to conform to the needs of a static site furnishing. “One of the driving factors
behind Link was the seemingly simple idea of providing options, both for the landscape architect and the end
user,” describes Landscape Forms Chief Creative Officer, Kirt Martin. "Link’s design is clean and elegant,
but the system actually features quite sophisticated construction and engineering in order to create a
product that is easy to install, offers our customers freedom and versatility they require, and maintains
the quality of fit and finish that is characteristic of Landscape Forms.”
Caption: Link’s modularity
enables designers to achieve the ideal solution for any site, both physically and aesthetically
The options for Link are myriad and architecturally
liberating. Inline or piano key orientations of the slats on the seats and backs allow for straight,
mitered, arced, or even serpentine arrangements. Two different radii for the arced piano key orientation
allow for varying degrees of curvature. Link benches can also be configured with or without backs and arms;
and can be affixed with metal supports, concrete block bases, or in wall-mounted and top-of-wall mounted
styles.
Link can be specified with steel supports or block
bases which lend the bench a robust sense of permanence, while wall-mounted and top-of-wall mounted styles
offer qualities of tension, balance, and levity.
Caption:
Key options for Link include the inline or piano key orientation of the seats and backs which allow for
straight, mitered, arced, or even serpentine arrangements.
The
Link Planning Guide offers examples that demonstrate the different ways in which Link can be specified and the mechanics of how the modular components work together. This guide is by no means exhaustive, but rather a jumping off point intended to familiarize designers and whet the creative appetite with the new possibilities this innovative seating system can offer.