When we hear or read the word bench a vague image of a heavy wooden construction comes to mind. Many design projects begin with this soft-focus thought of the object in question and occasionally designers try to capture the essence of that image in an attempt to summarise the subject of the project once and for all, in concrete terms. The Botan bench was designed like that, as a simple bench for the terrace of my office where it has been for the past 5 years, until recently I thought of proposing it to Maruni. It’s not an obvious product for the catalogue of a modern furniture company but I am hopeful there may be a need for it among architects designing public spaces.