Design by: Nahtrang Disseny

NIU is a multipurpose piece of street furniture. The apparent formal simplicity of a 230 cm diameter ring of cast stone actually has highly versatile functions. Niu is a large-format planter, a resting place, a sand or grass container and a tree surround. It is slightly inclined and seeks a relationship with passers-by, inviting them to interact with it.

The changing angles of the upper plane give its composition an organic, intuitive dynamism, playing with the light to generate highly suggestive, variable reflections. It acts like a giant water lily, spontaneously composing attraction and dispersals in space.

This is how Niu has emerged from the idea of providing a modest oasis to lean back in the city's hard spaces, to rest on the lawn or to read in the shade of a tree without requiring major civil engineering works.

Designed in 2009 by Daniel Vila and Esther Pujol (Nahtrang Disseny) for Escofet, Niu is above all an element that reconciles the urban space.