Test Bench: Imagining the Urban Furniture of Tomorrow

The project brings together six designer-company duos to create original urban furniture designed for tomorrow’s public spaces: reversible, sustainable, poetic, and minimalist. Each piece is produced in duplicate: one is displayed in Saint-Étienne during the Biennial, the other is installed in a host municipality of the Métropole.

Conceived as a living laboratory, Banc d’essai promotes a committed vision of design—serving the commons, urban ecology, and everyday beauty.

Designers: Numéro 111

Childhood friends Sophie Françon, Jennifer Julien, and Grégory Peyrache founded the Numéro 111 studio in 2010 after studying in Saint-Étienne at the School of Art and Design and the National School of Architecture. The team works in the fields of object design, furniture, interior and architectural design.

Partner Company: AUBRILAM

Founded in 1978 and based in Clermont-Ferrand and Brioude, AUBRILAM—part of the BEGA Group—is specialized in the design and manufacture of wooden lighting and urban furniture solutions, combining innovation, environmental respect, quality, and durability.

A raw and poetic gesture in the city

Empreintes is an invitation to contemplation and to a sensitive reappropriation of urban space. Inspired by tree trunks fallen from the sky, this sculptural bench explores the balance between raw form and contained geometry.It breaks the established order of standardized street furniture and sparks reflection on the desire for free appropriation of public space.Empreintes is a manifesto object: it expresses the will to reintroduce noble materials into the urban environment—making it more pleasant and welcoming.Made of black-stained solid wood and polished stainless steel, Empreintes speaks a bold yet humble visual language. Its lines suggest rather than impose. Each tilt is a suggested use, and each curve invites interpretation.

Through its materials and its location, Empreintes embodies a sensitive and sustainable vision of urban space—freer, more organic, more alive.

Furniture made to last, built for tomorrow's cities

The Empreintes bench is crafted from laminated Accoya® wood and supported by a polished stainless steel base.Accoya® is an ecological, circular-economy material certified Cradle to Cradle® Gold. It is known for its dimensional stability, outstanding durability of 50 years outdoors, and natural resistance.Thanks to decades of experience in wood transformation, AUBRILAM is a certified Accoya® manufacturer. A water-based finishing process has been developed to ensure both beauty and longevity, in line with the demands of future cities.

The wood, sourced from sustainably managed forests (FSC® C012330), enables long-term use without chemical treatment, while offering the warm touch of a living material.

Each piece is machined, shaped, and hand-finished in AUBRILAM’s workshops. This craftsmanship, integrated into an industrial process, is a unique skillset at the service of design and innovation.

The combination of wood and polished stainless steel creates a visual tension that highlights the nobility of the materials. Reflections on the base, the interplay of smooth and brushed finishes, and the tactile experience all contribute to the sensory journey for the user.This bench is not just a seat—it is a place to breathe in the city, an object to inhabit, a fragment of landscape within the built environment.

Name: Empreintes

Materials: Accoya® wood and Polished stainless steel

Dimensions: Single-piece version: lengths 277 cm and 400 cm Host city during Biennial: Aboën Two-piece version: lengths 340 cm and 320 cm Post-Biennial host city: Saint-Christo-en-Jarez

https://www.biennale-design.com/saint-etienne/2025/en/

Photos : Ludovic Combe