Currently on view in the communal space of the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art and Tent in Rotterdam, this is 'Shared Space III' - an installation made up of one monumental bench by Dutch designer Chris Kabel.

Witte de With and TENT are behind the spatial intervention; this being the third 'Shared Space' show.

For this project, Kabel proposed a design to transform the space into a public meeting place, based on the idea of a village square.

The bench was created from just one single ten metre-long wooden beam which originally came from Canada.

The jouney to the finished installation was a long one; with the wood lying in a Canadian river for a year to wash out the wood acids and then transported to the Netherlands where it was left drying to the air for two years.

Once the piece was ready to work into a bench, there were many technical obstacles to overcome. Kabel wanted to retain the continuity of the wood grain, yet found its massive size and weight an increasing issue as he tested techniques...

"Luckily I found this kind of wood and also a fantastic woodworker who works a bit like a mad scientist, he invents his own machines and techniques. He is a specialist in impossible projects. He has also worked for the Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei, Ettore Sottsas and Ron Arad, which made me feel confident he knew what level of finish I desired." says Kabel.

Shared Space III runs until October the 10th, 2011.