Zitpaaltjes: Amsterdam’s Bike-Inspired Street Furniture

Yesterday I came across a nice project by Jihyun David while strolling around the center of Amsterdam. David transformed the so-called Amsterdammertjes, the famous and ubiquitous posts in the streets of Amsterdam, into a rather comfortable ‘bar’ stool.

The project called Zitpaaltje, or ZIP when abbreviated, is a temporary street installation inspired by the Amsterdammertjes and the Dutch bicycle culture.

The seats are made from classic Dutch bike saddles and constructed on the bollards with a solid piece of metal. At the bottom a footrest is attached to the bollard, to make the stool pretty comfortable. The project is meant to activate the street as a place to enjoy. The concept invites us to reconsider the importance of the street as a social space instead of a traffic domain.

This seats located at the bridge between the Keizersgracht and the Leliegracht provide a great view over the water in the historic city center of the Dutch capital. Click here for photos of this remarkable urban intervention and click here to become a fan on Facebook.

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