New seats made from London clay designed by Local Collective, a practice led by AA alumna Lisa Chan, for the London Festival of Architecture, have been unveiled at London Bridge Station.

The commission follows a design competition organised by the LFA and Network Rail to create public installations that celebrate London’s shared spaces.

Local Collective used London clay – a natural material found beneath Londoners’ feet – to offer breathable and sustainable seating in the station. The bench’s modular system offers different arrangements for different social needs, while the materiality of clay improves indoor air quality by absorbing humidity and toxins.

AA alumna Lisa Chan commented that ‘Sitting on London’s Clay encourages a re-think about centuries-old construction techniques and materials. The context of clay is particularly suiting to London’s railway stations as the Crossrail development excavated 6 million tons of earth - it is time perhaps to re-appropriate construction waste. We hope to provide a place to sit but a moment to pause in the frenetic inner city of London and to feel the tactility and rawness of earth.’

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