'Shield' is a bench to fight COVID-19 designed by Antonio Lanzillo & Partners

Created by milanese design studio Antonio Lanzillo & Partners, ‘shield’ is a project that proposes how we can live in our cities post-quarantine.

Born from the need to return to normalcy while still safeguarding health and limiting the spread of COVID-19, the benches integrate plexiglass dividers to keep people at a safe distance and thus limit the possibility of contagion.

COVID-19 has changed the lives of us all and also the urban dynamics of our cities; it is no longer possible to move freely in our squares, streets and parks. As a place to sit, relax and socialize, benches are normally an indispensable piece of urban furniture. However, with restrictions on movement, what was once so normal is now forbidden.

Antonio Lanzillo & Partners has therefore created a collection of benches with a protective and functional design; a metal and concrete version able to ensure a safe distance between people through glass or plexiglass dividers. The transparency of the partitions will create a barrier, a protective shield for people who will use the bench, but with a limited aesthetic impact and in harmony with the surrounding environment. This project marks Antonio Lanzillo & Partners’s contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting point for living in our cities in the coming months – a simple idea to allow people to share public spaces together again in compliance with the rules.

Project info:

Project name: Shield

Design: Antonio Lanzillo and Giuseppe Gurrado (Antonio Lanzillo & Partners)