One of the biggest issues I have with name brand benches is that they are often too stylized and call too much attention to themselves. The ideal bench, in my view, disappears into the landscape scheme. It is not a celebrated feature. I have found simplicity in site furnishings to be very rare and, when identified, oddly enough, turn out to be more expensive despite the lack of ornament.
I have been on a quest to find a manufacturer that can make a bench cheap enough such that a landscape architect is not cornered into specifying an off-the-shelf product. The effort above is my attempt to create the most basic bench possible. There are only two materials: steel and HDF. My hope with the HDF was to provide more comfortable seating. I am guessing this material is not feasible but I wanted that controversy to start the conversation. My idea with the standoff and nailer was to clamp the HDF to the steel. This clamp could then receive the slats, ideally adhered with contact cement so there is no visible hardware.
Modeling and texturing done in Lightwave.