Ligeti Bench, Belgium

The ‘Ligeti bench’, which was designed for the foyers of the Concert Hall in Bruges (1999– 2002), ranks as one of the most empathically coloured designs of Robbrecht en Daem. This piece derived from the idea of introducing lightness as a contrast to the rigid concrete interiors of the building. A low, deep bench was designed and painted in stripes, with a colour composition inspired by the precisely conceived Farbenklavier of Le Corbusier. The colour palette developed by the modernist architect had been edited and republished just before Robbrecht en Daem started to build the Concert Hall in 1999. Despite (or because of) its lightness and fluid appearance, the colourful Ligeti bench gained a significant, recurring presence in the halls of the building. The reference to the Farbenklavier was chosen specifically because of its musical connotations, as the name of the bench is borrowed from the influential avant-garde composer. The furniture tells its story effortlessly, triggering an immediate association with the keyboard of a piano and also with the surroundings for which it was designed. 
Text by Aslı Çiçek – Original Publication: Aslı Çiçek, ‘Spaces for the Mind, Objects for Well-Being’, in Maarten Van Den Driessche, ed., ‘Robbrecht en Daem An Architectural Anthology’ (Ghent, 2017), pp. 481–484.
Architects
Robbrecht en Daem architecten
Program
Bench
Location
Belgium
Date
2002
Status
Completed
Contractor
DIMEC
Team
Paul Robbrecht, Hilde Daem, Johannes Robbrecht, Katrien Cammers