Whale Tail

Sitting Bench for QZ Urban Furniture

This piece of urban furniture is a versatile element for both indoors and outdoors. The shape of the seat and its support makes the bench resemble the tail of a whale without compromising its ergonomics and stability. A thin layer of fibreglass covers its inner core of wood or concrete enriched with recycled plastic. It can be placed alone or in small groups.

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Whale Tail by Enrique Mínguez Ros

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Sitting Bench by Enrique Mínguez Ros

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Enrique Mínguez Ros Whale Tail

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Enrique Mínguez Ros Sitting Bench

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Whale Tail Sitting Bench Media Articles

Explore our ready-to-use articles on Whale Tail, available in multiple languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian, Turkish, German and Arabic (Standard), for your feature stories.

Unique Properties

This single support design, allows for elegance and sobriety in both urban and natural environments. It can be placed either by itself or in small groups, enabling the seating space to resemble the vision of a single whale or of a whole pod swimming in harmony. It allows for different options in use of materials. It can be made of fiberglass reinforced either with wood or concrete. Yet, in its most environmentally efficient version, it can also be made of fiberglass reinforced with concrete and recycled plastic. All of these combinations enable the seat to follow a clean and ergonomic shape. Depending on the materials chosen it can resist up to 310kg.

Tags

WhaleTailBench, WhaleTail, Bench, SeaBench, PortBench, Seafront

Production Technology

It can be made from three different processes: A. Fiberglass reinforced with wood. Fiberglass painted thick between 8 and 12 mm. Interior reinforced with high density compact laminated wood frame. B. Fiberglass with reinforced concrete and recycled plastic. Fiberglass painted thick between 4 and 8 mm. Interior reinforced with polymer concrete and recycled HPDE. C. Reinforced concrete. Concrete finish, reinforced with fibers of very high performance and great plasticity, which gives it great resistance.

Design Challenge

Once the molds were made, the main problem was maintaining the beauty in all the surface of the element. The solution to the problem was found adapting the manufacturing process to the different materials. It needed to be done in two parts that had to be joined later, working on the partition line. In the case of fiberglass reinforced with concrete and recycled plastic, the problem resided in the breathability of the concrete. To avoid it penetrating the fiber, the element was painted after finishing the piece. Finally, in the version with only concrete, the opening in the surface to pour the concrete was too small and the figure needed to be vibrated, so the solution involved changes in the pouring method and a concrete grain reduction.

Project Duration

The project started in September 2019 and finished in March 2020 in Cartagena (Spain), and it was exhibited in the port of Cartagena in June 2020. Currently it has been proposed for a large-area shopping center.

Operation Flow

Sitting bench. This piece not only fulfils the function of a seat, it also provides an aesthetic value when it is placed in the urban space: seafronts, ports, parks, squares, streets and boulevards. When t it is not occupied, its soft undulating shapes make it a sculptural element.

Research

The type of research used was data collection by observation, as the main objective was to create a piece based on marine life. Design Thinking Methodology was then used to ensure that ergonomics was present, but always framed by the connection to the sea. Bearing that in mind, whales, dolphins, seahorses, waves and other remarkable marine items were studied to abstract their basic shapes. The aim was to establish a relationship between those shapes and the forms produced by the human body, in search of a practical figure. After some failed initial creations, the focus turned to capturing the aerodynamic and organic essence of the marine environment. Thus, it was concluded that the tail of a whale resembled the basic ergonomics of a seat. The first version was designed with bigger cantilevers but did not pass the strength simulation program test since the bending movement was too big for the desired single support. In order to solve this key part, the cantilever was shortened and the structure reinforced with an internal frame of wood. In the final model, this frame runs through the entire central part of the piece, being the connecting component between the two faces of the bench.

Inspiration

This piece of furniture takes its inspiration from the ocean and one of the most iconic images it offers us: the whale tails.

Image Credits

Image #1: Photographer David Frutos, Whale Tail Bench, 2020. Image #2: Photographer David Frutos, Whale Tail Bench, 2020. Image #3: Photographer David Frutos, Whale Tail Bench, 2020. Image #4: Photographer Mario González, Whale Tail Bench, 2020. Image #2: Photographer Enrique Mínguez, Whale Tail Bench, 2020.

Project Overview

Whale Tail Sitting Bench has been a Silver winner in the Garden and Outdoor Furniture Design award category in the year 2020 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Silver Recognition

Enrique Mínguez Ros was recognized with the coveted Silver A' Design Award in 2021, a testament to excellence of their work Whale Tail Sitting Bench.

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