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Spotted: We all know by this point that it is important to stay at least 1.5 metres from other people. But this can be easy to forget, especially when outdoors. Dutch design firm Object Studio has come up with a way to help people to follow government guidelines: a movable bench, the CoronaCrisisKruk, helps people to stay the correct distance apart.

The CoronaCrisisKruk consists of two stools (krukken) connected by a plywood beam. The stools are 1.5 metres apart and the beam is printed with ruler-style markings and punning phrases such as “met afstand het leukste park” (“by far the nicest park”). The beam also has a handle in the middle, to make it easy to move around.

Object Studio has had several of the benches made and placed in a local park. They are also offering custom versions for organisations that want their own benches and will donate all profits donated to Doctors Without Borders. For do-it-yourselfers, the studio also offers free designs online.

Object Studio founder Björn van den Broek says he was inspired by seeing people in the park across the street from his house, where he watched people struggle with knowing exactly how far to stay from each other. “I saw the struggle happening and recognised my own uncertainty in the behaviour of others,” van den Broek said, adding that, “People understood them right away, and just loved using them. Even in a circle around them people kept the right distance from each other, without having to check or correct others on their behaviour.”

The CrisisKruk joins an increasingly creative selection of innovations aimed at helping people to stay safe during the pandemic. Here at Springwise, we have highlighted many of these, including a customisable face mask that can be adjusted to suit different professions and COVID-proof cinema seats.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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