Client: Town of Ridgway

Overview

Climate conscious sculptural benches lure drivers to visit Ridgway’s shops and restaurants as they travel along Hwy 62 in rural Colorado.

Goals

Ridgway held a national competition to select artists to design and fabricate unique sidewalk elements for the section of rural Highway 62 that passes next to their town. Along with other elements from local artists, a collection of Colin Selig’s benches were chosen, with the intention that their bright colors and unusual shapes grab people’s attention and have them want to stop and visit the local shops and restaurants.

Process

In collaboration with a community members The Town selected six different benches from Colin's catalog of designs, along with colors.
The benches were fabricated in the artist's studio by repurposing regionally sourced scrap steel propane tanks, which were carefully dissected and reassembled without any additional reshaping of the material, a process with a minimal carbon footprint that produces durable objects that contain 99% post-consumer reused content. All parts were seam welded together to form a very rigid structure with no flat surfaces or pockets for water to collect. To ensure they would be safe for human interaction, all welds and edges were sanded smooth. The benches were coated in a super durable architectural grade powder coating.

Additional Information

Since being installed in 2016 the benches have been received positively and the town reports an increase in visitors.