by Brianna Crandall — September 23, 2015—High-design site furniture manufacturer Landscape Forms recently introduced the STRATA Beam bench, the latest addition to its STRATA family of Meldstone Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) products. Meldstone is a proprietary material engineered by Landscape Forms with state-of-the-art technology innovations that deliver new capabilities in form and structure. The new bench from industrial designer Jess Sorel offers a stylish variation on the concrete and wood classic.
“The STRATA Beam bench advances our goal to expand our presence in the cast concrete furniture market,” explains Landscape Forms President, Richard Heriford. “We acquired Meldstone capabilities because we saw a lack of well-designed concrete site furniture. Now we are combining high-performance cast concrete with other materials to deliver great design.”
STRATA Beam is distinguished by subtly faceted cast end pieces made possible by the Meldstone technology. The faceting offers a play between light and shadow from multiple points of view, says the company. Anchoring elements are bridged by robust wood slats that form an uninterrupted span.
“The Meldstone castings in STRATA Beam mimic the form vocabulary of the original STRATA bench,” says Kirt Martin, vice president of Design and Marketing. “Here we see the same sensibilities — intriguing angles and clean lines — coupled with wood where the body interacts with the material. It’s a beautiful use of two materials derived from the earth. Very natural but also very modern.”
The three-seat bench is offered with and without a back. The angled back is inset from the seat ends, providing visual counterpoint to the angularity of the castings. Cast concrete elements are notched to accept wood seat slats, and metal back supports are sculpted as transitional elements to draw the wood and concrete together, elegant solutions emblematic of the craftsmanship and attention to detail in every aspect of the product.
The mix of materials is engineered to provide pleasing contrasts between cool and warm, cast and milled, hard and soft. Optional cast arms are available on both backed and backless versions. STRATA Beam is solidly grounded while retaining a lightness of scale appropriate for use in multiple applications, adds the company. A natural complement to the original STRATA bench, it is designed for use with STRATA tables to create out-of-the-ordinary outdoor settings.
For more information, contact Landscape Forms and see FM-specific information on the company’s FMLink ad.
