Part of the Project
From the Series
The grand prize in the Your Street Gauteng Challenge was awarded to Zamani Manqele for his proposal to turn discarded tyres into commuter seats at transport hubs in Johannesburg.
The tyres are retrofitted and placed in busy commuter areas, offering people an opportunity to have a break while waiting for transport.
Here Manqele explains that his Rydngchairs aim to make the use of a public space more enjoyable. He adds that material concerns were an important consideration in the design, manufacture and prototyping of the seats. It was also a way to save tyres, which contain methane, from landfills and this polluting the earth.
Manqele sourced the tyres from car dealerships and gave them a makeover. He says the product development and refining of the idea took a long time but the reaction has been great. He hopes to expand the project in the near future.
The prize money or this project was proudly sponsored by Gauteng Tourism Authority.
