5 factors to consider when choosing street furniture

Street furniture litters our landscapes providing character, aesthetics and convenience to place. What factors come into play when deciding the optimal street furniture?

What is street furniture?
Street furniture constitutes an array of outdoor furniture which give function, order, colour and personality to urban landscapes across villages, towns and cities. It includes items such as lighting, seating, traffic signage, public toilets and waste receptacles. Whether on footpaths, in city centres, parks or squares, street furniture plays a pivotal role in urban development and usage.

Purpose of street furniture
Street furniture has many uses from practical to attractive to emotional to environmental. Having benches, bins, seating, bus stops and more in targeted spots throughout urban areas, creates streetscapes with purpose and appeal. It creates places to meet, greet, travel, enjoy and assign value to place.

Due to the powerful message and function that street furniture space occupies, designers and architects play a key role in the development and placement of street furniture.

Impacts of street furniture
Urban spaces can be revitalised and rejuvenated with good planning, investment and commitment. Street furniture can assist with such regeneration by creating functional and attractive areas that draw people to locations previously underused or to new urban locations.
Seats for instance will encourage people to spend time in areas which without furniture would offer no reason to dwell. They provide clear destinations to meet and invite others to take advantage of the space.

Street furniture encourages people to get out and about in the outdoors and connect with their environment. Whether walking to meet for coffee or using cycle racks after cycling rather than driving to a destination, quality street furniture provides opportunities that can improve and make a difference to physical and emotional well-being.

Bins provide another example of essential street furniture, fundamental to keeping streets and areas clean and inviting. Inadequate waste disposal facilities leads to areas becoming littered and unattractive. Recycling and waste bins should be readily available with their numbers and frequency matching the expected usage, with busier areas requiring greater facilities to meet higher user demand. Bins should be located at the busiest spots and junctions where they are most likely to be used. For example in a standard 200m stretch, there should be roughly 4 waste receptacles on each side of the street , with more if a very busy stretch of road with multiple shops and cafes.

5 factors to consider when choosing street furniture

Usage: First off understand who will be using the street furniture. Will it be primarily used by elderly or young people, or a combination across the age spectrum? Will it be multipurpose meeting different requirements at different points of the day or week. Street furniture that takes into account the requirements of those using it will have greater success than furniture whose planning does not incorporate this consideration.

Materials: What material works best? When selecting street furniture, material is key not just for how it will look but how it will behave when stressed by weather elements and human usage. Street furniture should be non-corrosive, weather resistant and cope with expansion and contraction, humidity and other varying climatic conditions. It should be strong and have vandal resistant properties. Anodised aluminium is a popular material for street furniture, as is moulded timber.

Aesthetics: Attractive street furniture which blends with the local landscape, showcases what an area is famous for, or displays heritage features, offers character and identity to a place that would be less striking without the complimentary street furniture. Style and visual aesthetics of street furniture play a big role in giving landscapes a sense of place.

Maintenance: Urban landscapes are busy places and there is never an abundance of time or money for street furniture maintenance. Thus all street furniture should be naturally low maintenance, hard-wearing, strong, practical, durable and not deteriorate over time in looks or function. Having low maintenance quality street furniture adds great value to a place, maintaining it as an attractive destination.

Safety and Security: For understandable safety and security reasons, street furniture must be secured to the ground with bolts or embedded into the ground. To make areas safe and welcoming there should be ample adequate lighting and there should be provision for accessibility to ensure everyone can enjoy outdoor spaces. DDA compliant street furniture is a core asset for outdoor spaces.

Once the best street furniture has been selected for an area, it’s location should present an uncluttered welcoming feel and blend in with the surrounding environment. It should be seen as attractive and consistent, fitting seamlessly into the urban landscape.

Felton are specialists in outdoor furniture and have recently launched the new Ribbon range including outdoor timber bench seats, tables and bin enclosures. If you would like more information or advice on our range of street furniture, contact the team on 1800 834 016.