Shaping Sydney: The story of Conybeare and Morrison

Few designers have made such an indelible mark on Sydney’s urban spaces, infrastructure and architecture as Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison. Together, these two have produced innovations so pervasive through Sydney that they have become part of the ‘furniture’ – yet their significance has largely gone unrecognised.

From Circular Quay to Bondi Beach, Darling Harbour and Kings Cross, Conybeare and Morrison’s design expertise has shaped some of Sydney’s most prominent public spaces and enriched the lives of its communities.

Here is the untold story of how Conybeare and Morrison – directors and founders of Street Furniture Australia – influenced many of Sydney’s most iconic locations.

Read the full article, from Outdoor Design Source.

SFA Directors

William Morrison and Darrel Conybeare

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Rose Bay Promenade (Winner 2008 Woollahra Conservation Award) Image credit to Michael Nicholson

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Mixed-use residential and commercial towers, Figtree Drive Homebush

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Product Design for Street Furniture Australia


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recent news

Street Furniture Australia is now 100% Carbon Neutral

Street Furniture Australia’s entire product range and manufacturing operation has received carbon neutral certification through Climate Active™. Achieving carbon neutral certification marks a significant milestone in our operation and the culmination of a four year long process of detailed measurement and analysis. Climate Active™ is the only Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification programme for businesses to measure, reduce, and offsets their carbon emissions. It is one of the most rigorous carbon-neutral programs in the world. An approved Emissions Reduction Strategy (ERS) is central to achieving certification through Climate Active. Street Furniture Australia has elected to use SBTi validated science-based targets to ensure their ERS is meaningful and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement – to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. For those emissions that can’t be …

  • 20 jun 2024
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‘Elegant Simplicity’: Finally A Good-Looking Bin

Linea Bin is the newest addition to Street Furniture Australia’s minimalist Linea range. Built from stainless steel for strength, durability and a refined aesthetic, it has been thoughtfully designed with input from landscape architects and waste managers to deliver hygiene, accessibility and sustainability in the public realm. Built to LastA robust stainless steel frame and panel system ensures Linea Bin performs in high-traffic environments. A full-height stainless steel 316 piano hinge and splash tray provide exceptional strength, hygiene and corrosion resistance, withstanding daily impacts from trolleys and cleaning equipment. “Durability was paramount,” says Pearson Bulmer, Senior Industrial Designer at Street Furniture Australia. “Every detail needed to perform in the public realm for years to come – but also be designed for disassembly so parts can be repaired, replaced or recycled …

  • 24 sep 2025
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Engineered Wood: A New Timber Alternative

With the look and feel of natural timber, backed by 12 months of performance testing for the public realm, engineered wood joins Street Furniture Australia’s selection of batten materials. Designers and place custodians can now choose from three batten options to achieve a timber look: natural Spotted Gum hardwood, low maintenance aluminium Wood Without Worry, and engineered wood known as Onewood HRT. See our Engineered Wood: Onewood HRT brochure or book a presentation. What is engineered wood?Onewood HRT (Homogeneous Reconstituted Timber) is a solid engineered timber, made from fast-growing FSC certified poplar and eucalyptus fibres that are compressed under heat and pressure with a resin binder. It is solid throughout with an organic grain and, like real hardwood, can be sanded to refresh. Street Furniture Australia partners with a Singapore-based …

  • 7 oct 2025
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related news

AILA Fellows’ Festival Lunch

The Festival of Landscape Architecture: This Public Life brought together thinkers and practitioners in Melbourne to interrogate challenges of climate, culture, design and environment for landscape architects. The Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) invited Street Furniture Australia to host an inaugural AILA Fellows’ Lunch. An opportunity to reconnect and welcome new Fellows, the event included the rising stars of landscape architecture, state representatives of AILA Fresh. Held at Federation Square’s ZINC overlooking the Yarra River, an informal Q&A was held through the clatter of enthusiastic diners. Incoming AILA National Councillor Malcolm Snow FAILA introduced June Boxsell of Street Furniture Australia and co-host Outdoor Design Source’s Emil Montibeler to kick off proceedings. Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison, founders and directors of Conybeare Morrison International and Street Furniture Australia, and Darren …

  • 26 oct 2015
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Working with Charles and Ray Eames

SPECIAL FEATURE: Australian architect Darrel Conybeare joined the Eames office in Venice, California, in 1967, as a young graduate of the Architecture and Civic Design Masters program at the University of Pennsylvania. The next three years were beyond his greatest expectations … The design approach at Street Furniture Australia has been influenced by the Eames office, where Darrel Conybeare (shown), SFA co-director, worked for a number of years. I was amazed that I had won the job. In 1967, American architect Denise Scott Brown introduced me to Ray and Charles Eames after I had moved to California. My interview took place at 901 Washington Boulevard, Venice, California, the design home of their extraordinary practice. Ray and Charles described the nature of the job, and I explained my purpose in coming to America to …

  • 14 sep 2015
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An Interview with our Founding Directors

A special interview with Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison about the beginnings of Street Furniture Australia. Image: Classic Plaza Seat, first designed in 1974. Darrel Conybeare – Founding Director Can you tell us a bit about your background? I graduated in architecture with first Class Honours and the University Medal at the University of Sydney in 1962. I then went on to gain Masters degrees in Architecture and City Planning in the Civic Design Program at the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve worked in American architectural practices Wallace McHarg, Roberts & Todd, a local government planning department as Marin County Urban Designer and in the office of Ray & Charles Eames as the Project Design Director of the National Fisheries Centre and in the Australian architectural practices McConnel Smith & Johnson, Collard …

  • 4 apr 2012
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