Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor will officially open Future Street at 9am on October 12th, in front of Sydney’s Customs House on Alfred Street in Circular Quay. All are invited to attend.
Street Furniture Australia will contribute to the installation, which is sponsored by the Australian Government, with innovations for a smarter, more connected city and its people.
Designed by the Place Design Group for the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), Internet of Things Alliance Australia (IoTAA) and Smart Cities Council Australia and New Zealand (SCCANZ), Future Street will imagine how our city streets could better enhance urban lives.
Conversation starters include self-driving vehicles, with a range of street, landscape, IoT, utilities, transport, urban design and placemaking technologies and ideas in action from product partners Street Furniture Australia, WE-EF Lighting, Lawn Solutions, Andreasens Green, Playrope, Buddy, Utillix, Itron, BYKKO and Telstra.
Street Furniture Australia will debut the PowerMe charging table, which allows city dwellers to charge their devices as they work, meet friends, relax or wait for transport in public streets and parks.
“Running low on battery while you’re out and about can cause stress in our increasingly connected lives, hence the popularity of products like power bricks to stay agile and charged up on long trips around the city,” says Marketing Manager June Boxsell.
“PowerMe ensures device owners won’t be cut off from the digital services they rely on, such as transport and banking apps. It is accessible to all device owners, requiring only a cable – and with wireless charging on the way for iPhone and already available with some Android devices, soon you’ll just need to place your phone on the tabletop.”
The company’s R&D team faced some challenges to prepare a charging device for the public realm. PowerMe is waterproof, easily upgradeable for new technologies, integrates with existing seating, and folds shut to protect cables while charging is in progress.
When not fueling devices, it is a functional side table for your notebook and coffee. It can also be hooked up to become a wifi hotspot, and fitted with sensors to track usage as required by Councils and custodians.
PowerMe symbols light up at night
ARIA is a kit of parts to configure the shape you want.
PowerMe easily connects with the new ARIA seating system, a modular suite that empowers place designers to seamlessly pair seats, benches, tables and corners to perfectly match the human activity and topography of individual sites.
“Custom furniture is popular among the designers we work with as it allows landscape architects to better craft the user experience of a place, making it more hospitable and responsive to the needs of those who work, live and play there each day,” says Boxsell.
“The ARIA seating system allows for custom furniture arrangements, using standard parts. Our mission is to bring lasting enjoyment to public places, and this makes that so much more accessible for public spaces and projects where design time and budget is limited.”
New eBins will also feature at the Future Street in garbage and recycling iterations. The prototypes will demonstrate a fill-level sensor technology that allows custodians to check when bins are full and require cleaning. The bin will also record when it was last maintained.
“The Escola SmartBins include some game changing technology for public health, operations efficiency and the cleanliness of our cities,” says Boxsell.
Future Street runs from October 12-15 at Alfred Street, Circular Quay, in front of Customs House. Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor will attend the official opening at 9am on October 12. All are encouraged and invited to attend.
The Street Furniture Australia ARIA seating system with PowerMe table will officially launch in 2018. The Escola SmartBin is available to order now.
Future Street is part of the wider 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture: The 3rd City to be hosted in Sydney from 12-15 October. The Festival aims to connect the public with landscape architects, with the program including a Conference, the National Landscape Architecture Awards, Festival Party and a host of public and industry tours, exhibitions, activations, screenings and talks.
