A visit to La Selva Biological Station, in Costa Rica’s Central region, shows a variety of custom-made, one-of-a-kind public use objects. Public use objects are at the service of the community. They are not owned by individuals but by institutions or agencies. They are democratic since they provide a service to all, without distinction: a beggar and a millionaire, a woman and a child, a local and a foreigner sit in the same park bench. Urban furniture is the best example of this category of objects, and this boot rack is the equivalent of an element of urban furniture in a natural environment: a fine example of nature furniture. This object addresses a need and explains how it was designed: biological researchers spend their time collecting data in the rain forest. They all use rubber boots that inevitably get wet and muddy. When they return to the lab building, they need a dry and clean pair of shoes; at first, they probably lined up their rubber boots on the ground until someone realized that was not the best way for them to dry. Also, since most of the boots look the same and their size is stamped in the sole, a logical way to know whose boots were who is to invert them at an angle that allows a quick visual identification and faster draining of excess water. The materialization of the design could have been more refined. But this is true innovation.
