Climbing on a Davioud bench can be a perilous exercise for young children in Paris, but the Mairie de Paris has come up with a solution. Miniature versions of this mythical piece of Parisian street furniture are to be installed in the city ‘ s bays. And while the prototype model has already been designed on the premises of the City’s Maintenance and Supply Center, it will probably take until the summer of 2025 to be put into service.
Miniature Davioud benches soon in service in Paris
Like Wallace fountains or Morris columns, Davioud benches have been an integral part of the capital’s furniture heritage for decades. Designed in the 1860s, they have populated the capital by the thousands until today, when there are more or less 8,500 of them. Emblematic of the City of Light, they nevertheless have one small flaw: they’re not particularly suitable for small children, notably because the back support isn’t low enough.
This concern has been taken on board by Paris City Hall, which has set itself the task of launching more accessible benches. Thus, the Davioud bench will soon have a little brother, whose height has been lowered by a seventh, and whose space between the planks increased. Prototyped at the heart of the City’s Maintenance and Supply Centre, it will undergo further testing and inspection phases before being deployed throughout the city next summer.
But you won’t have to wait that long if you want to try out these future new benches, as they will be on display from September 27, 28 and 29, on rue de Louvois, rue de la Présentation (XIe) and rue Saint-Maur respectively. And once the concept has been validated, the first Parisian streets to be concerned will be those with schools.