Public space design takes an unexpected turn in the work of Benedetto Bufalino, who treats cars not as vehicles but as civic raw material. Across plazas and streets, he actively assigns parked automobiles new roles, turning them into ping-pong tables, terraces, or social prompts embedded directly into the urban fabric.

Nothing hides here. Instead, the cars stay fully legible, instantly recognizable, and slightly absurd. That tension drives the work. By intervening just enough, Bufalino reframes public space design away from spectacle and toward invitation. The objects don’t instruct people how to engage. Rather, they quietly open the door and let participation happen on its own terms.

For designers thinking about shared environments, this approach connects to broader conversations about how spaces link people, ideas, and everyday rituals, as explored in Linking Spaces, Places, and Ideas. In that context, the work offers a clear reminder: some of the most effective public gestures already sit in front of us, parked and waiting to be reconsidered.

_{Images Courtesy of Benedetto Bufalino}

_{Featured image: The Peugeot 206 Ping-Pong Table / École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris / 2018}