Project: The Care Square
Author: Ginevra Battaglia
A modular urban furniture system addressing the challenge of revitalising public squares through participation and inclusion.
Enabling experiences, relationships, and forms of presence in public space.
The Care Square was conceived as a modular system to activate public space through care, participation, and collective engagement. It responds to the need for more inclusive and emotionally aware urban environments, offering moments of pause and connection within fast-paced city life.
The initial concept included four elements—the Green Lab, Sound Dome, Word Wall, and Community Table—each addressing different forms of public interaction. However, due to technical and temporal constraints, the system was simplified into a single coherent object.
This led to The Care Table, an urban furniture piece that merges the key ideas of the original proposal. It integrates a writable surface for expression, built-in planters to reconnect with nature, and a tactile herbarium that embeds memory and material sensitivity into the design.
Developed through iterative prototyping in recycled fibre-reinforced polymer (rGFRP), the final design combines mould-based structural elements with pressed panels for planting modules. With reduced scale, improved assembly, and durable surfaces—including a laser-engraved herbarium and chalk-writable areas—the table functions as a platform for interaction, encouraging users to slow down, share, and reconnect with their environment.
