Great street furniture can now do more than just provide a place to sit. The darling of urban designers at the moment is something called the Soofa, a solar-powered, phone-charging “smartbench” that’s popped up in 18 US cities. Now, instead of simply providing a comfortable place to recline—and yes, those are tasteful wood slat seats—the bench adds USB ports (bring your own cable) and sensors to collect environmental data (an add-on kiosk includes a touchscreen for local information). It’s all powered by a squat photovoltaic panel that’s painted bright red; a kind of George Nelson bench meets a friendly barbecue grill vibe.
(via Seats in the street: How LA’s outdoor furniture creates a more livable city - Curbed)