A Rotorua student's innovative creation for public seating became a reality last night when the seat he designed was unveiled on the corner of Tutanekai and Eruera St.
Now an engineering apprentice with a local company, Jake Krebs' winning design was selected from a competition which 22 local secondary school students entered.
The design competition involved using Rotorua's "Wood First" principle for developing a new public seating concept for the inner city revitalisation programme. The new seating needed to be easier for elderly people to use while addressing public safety concerns around groups of people gathering in large seating bays in place at the time.
The former Rotorua Lakes High School student won an iPad from Waiariki Institute of Technology and the opportunity to develop the concept with local business suppliers Lockwood, Woodmasters, Hepburn Electrical, Rotoma Timber and Chris Smith Glass.
Last night Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick and Mr Krebs unveiled the first of the new seats installed in the inner city.
His unique seat design features a representation of a New Zealand silver fern and showcases local wood products. The integration of internal lighting helped transform the seat into a piece of functional street art.
Since winning the competition Mr Krebs has gained valuable work experience alongside Rotorua District Council staff and local businesses who supported the revitalisation programme.
More new seats will be installed along Tutanekai St.
Four more seats are being manufactured, two of which have been sponsored by local entrepreneurs and developers, the Bradley family.
Rotorua district councillor and Inner City Revitalisation portfolio leader Karen Hunt said local businesses had come together "with outstanding success, to make Jake's design a reality".
"It's this sort of local involvement in our own community that's key to building a strong and vibrant inner city future - one of the key goals of our Rotorua 2030 vision," Mrs Hunt said.