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A group of students from a Winnipeg high school will soon add a special touch to the downtown landscape.
Eight welding students from Technical Vocational High School spent two months designing and creating 40 bench boxes to be placed along Graham Avenue.
A bus shelter that once occupied space on Graham Avenue will be removed as the city switches to its new Primary Transit Network. This will leave more room for pedestrians to walk, sit, and rest.
To add a special touch to the space, the students have created benches with high-quality steel that will form a rust patina over time.
The benches are also works of art, each featuring a piece from the Seven Sacred teachings.
"They should feel very proud of themselves because they're going to see what they did in class out on the street this summer for everyone to enjoy," said Karen Kliewer, senior city planner managing the Graham Avenue initiative to the Winnipeg School Division. "These are art pieces, but they are also places for people to interact with and sit and enjoy."
Tony Bage, the welding teacher at Tec Voc, says he was surprised at how excited his students were to take on this task.
"I didn't think they'd be interested in just welding a box," he said. "I thought they'd want to weld something like a car or a Thor hammer."
One of the students involved says the experience was beyond what he expected.
"I had a great time working on this. There was a lot of experience going into it," said James Beaucage. "It was just good doing it for the city...I can't wait to see them on the street."
The benches are made from Corten steel, which they say will last forever and become more beautiful with age.