Purple Big Bench - Monforte d'Alba

Chris Bangle: «We hope to see many more Big Benches being built, to make us feel like children again when we climb onto them, and that many new visitors may come to this region to enjoy the stunning views of the countryside».

From Chris Bangle’s Big Benches, now a symbol of the Alta Langa, comes the Big Bench Community Project (BBCP) initiative, to support local enterprise, tourism and craftsmanship in the towns that host these out-of-scale installations. BBCP is a no profit initiative promoted by the american designer and his wife Catherine, Clavesana citizens since 2009, to unite the creativity of the Chris Bangle Associates S.r.l. design team with the craftsmen of this area of Piemonte. BBCP activities – strictly no profit – include both technical support for those who wish to construct offi-cial Big Benches, and collaboration with prominent local craftsmen to create products inspired by them, that may constitute a small contribution to the local economy and tourism, in the spirit of positivity that the Big Benches bring to this area.

Part of the proceeds from all sales, as well as the donations made by those who construct a new bench, will be devolved by the Big Bench Community Project to the towns involved and will be destined to support the local community. The first result of this initiative is the col-laboration with Carru’s master goldsmith Ugo Bracco, who reproduced the eight existing benches in miniature, in the form of 925 silver pendants.