Almost like the cover of a Joy Division album you can sit on, France-based designer Alexandre Moronnoz's Urban Seating series bends line into contours, whether laser-cut steel or repeating wooden modules. Above are "Interferences," "Y" and "Muscle," the latter of which (up top) won a L'Observeur du Design 2010 star award.

Interferences (2007) The insistent structure of this piece scanned in metal suggests the rhythm of a volt-meter registering the pulse of the city - it is an industrial electrocardiogram. The designer describes it as 'an organic urban expression, like a public space in movement, a proposal for a street bench that oscillates between order and disorder, the balance generating creativity, conviviality and encounters.' This project earned him 1st prize in the international PARKDESIGN 2007 competition held by Pro Materia. A signature piece that has an industrial vocation, already present at Les Jardins du Fleuriste in Brussels.

Material: Steel, laser-cut, folded & welded. Zinc electroplate & epoxy paint finish. Dimensions: 480 x 600 x 400 mm Photos by Sabine Puche

"Y" (2006) 'Y' is a prototype for furnishing parks and gardens that grew out of VIA Project Assistance grant in 2006. Both its form and its function evolve and are many and varied depending on user context. A standard Y-shaped piece ( 3 limbs = 3 different postures) proposes continual movement in which the repetition of a module in wood serves a form in functional undulation.

Material: Retified timber with no surface treatment, external resistance. Digitally milled. Mechanical assemblage. Production: concept prototype Dimensions : L = 3,6 m Photo by Filioux & Filioux

Muscle (2009) 'Muscle' is a rest platform made by TF (Tôlerie Forezienne). It strikes a lively contrary stance to its relaxing function, since its form suggests effort in the act of sitting or lying down - the body being wedged between its organic ripples. Like the fibrous tendons of a muscle, its metal blades compress and stretch to maintain rigidity that is convivial and dynamic. As in 'Interference', movement is caught in tension by repeating a sequence in metal.

Materials: steel, zinc coat & heat-lacquered paint finish. This is an environment-friendly piece because steel can be recycled indefinitely and is already being recycled up to 95% all over the world, which means a reduction in CO2 emissions and savings in mineral ore, lime and energy. The finish is also eco-friendly: powdered paint preserves both the environment and health since it contains no solvents, lead or TGIC.

Dimensions : L. 4 000 mm ; W. 785 mm ; H. 540 mm Weight: 450 kg Photo by Sabine Puche

First shown at Biennale Internationale de Saint-Etienne in 2008 for Pro Materia and Tolerie Forezienne. Currently at Cite du Design 'Bancs d'essai' exhibition

Alexandre Moronnoz, designer. Born 1977 at Bourg en Bresse. Graduated ENSCI, Les Ateliers, 2003. He sees design work as an attentive act; his activity focuses mainly on product and space design. He alternates research projects, commissions and collaborations with Delo Lindo for Tefal (2005-06) or Radi Designers for Schneider (2006). His first two street furniture projects - 'Y' in 2006 developed with VIA, and 'Interferences' in 2007 for Bruxelles Environnement - mark strong links between object and space. He treats the object as an architecture, in which questions of context and environment are integrated to design