streetchat

As the value of public spaces comes into focus, this article shares seven case studies of street furniture being used to help improve community wellbeing. Both tactical pop-ups and permanent installations are featured below, with examples of projects that foster community engagement and measure social impact. Street Furniture Australia products have been tried-and-tested to activate spaces and deliver results. Select from our range to bring life, joy and comfort to your community. Case 1. Creating Millions of Smiles Woden Experiment was a six-month prototype installation by the ACT Government that aimed to bring life, joy and comfort to Canberra’s Woden Town Square. Brightly coloured seats and tables were configured in random positions to create a casual and welcoming vibe. Community interviews, observations and workshops were at the heart of this …

The City of Canterbury Bankstown transformed a section of North Terrace in Bankstown into an interactive experience for a week in June. The Future Street exhibit showcased how landscape, infrastructure and technology may advance the city to become more liveable, productive and sustainable. Future Street Canterbury-Bankstown also highlighted two of the city’s major projects under consultation: the ‘Smart CBCity Roadmap‘ and ‘Bankstown Complete Streets Transport and Place Plan‘. The 2019 pop-up follows the original 2017 Future Street activation, held in front of Customs House in Circular Quay – a project designed by Place Design Group with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Smart Cities Council ANZ and the Internet of Things Alliance Australia. To help demonstrate these ideas, product vendors including Street Furniture Australia, Smart Sensor, Lime, Andreasen’s Green and …

Kanye West – rapper, fashion designer and now city builder? Kanye West appears to be turning his sights from music and sneakers to architecture and city-building. “Don’t let him do this,” writes Brentin Mock in CityLab. In the final 15 minutes of an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, ticking well over 8 million YouTube views in 20 days, Yeezy walks his 300 acres and muses, “I’m gonna build five properties, so this is my first community. I’m getting into development. Anybody who’s been to any of my cribs knows I’m super into developing homes. This is the next frontier for me.” “I’m going to be one of the biggest real estate developers of all time, like what Howard Hughes was to aircraft and what Henry Ford was to cars.” His …

StreetChat in 2017 saw smart technology and smart cities come to the fore, with Streets 2.0 and Future Street engaging the attention of public realm professionals and the public alike. However, this list of the five most-read stories throughout the year also features projects that encourage communities to spend time together in public space. It has technical feats on a large scale, the wisdom of Jan Gehl, and our top story reflects a mainstream discussion still buzzing today. Any guesses? Count down our top five: 5: Harold Park by Mirvac This giant Arc Seat collaboration between Aspect Studios, Mirvac, Co-Ordinated Landscapes and Street Furniture Australia grabbed attention in the January issue. With space for up to 15 neighbours from the $1.1 bn Sydney urban renewal development, the seat rests on a …

As Founding Executive Director of the Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand, Adam Beck has a mission to accelerate sustainability in cities and towns through technology, data and intelligent design. The Council partnered with AILA and the Internet of Things Alliance Australia to demonstrate these ideas in action in Sydney with the Future Street, designed by Place Design Group as part of the 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture. Beck is also an Ambassador with Portland-based think tank EcoDistricts, a former lecturer and studio lead in social impact assessment and community engagement at the University of Queensland, and spent 15 years with global consulting firms like Arup. He shares his Future Street findings and vision for next-gen cities in a smarter, more sustainable world. What can we learn from Future Street? Future Street exceeded our …

Street Furniture Australia will proudly contribute furniture prototypes to the Future Street installation in Sydney this October, with ideas set to enliven your lunch break, outdoor meeting or commute. The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), Internet of Things Alliance Australia (IOTAA) and Smart Cities Council Australia New Zealand (SCCANZ) will build the street of the future at Circular Quay on Alfred Street, in front of Customs House, from October 12 to 15. Place Design Group is leading the design and build of the project, which forms part of the 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture: The 3rd City. A four-day celebration will showcase a range of street, landscape, IoT, utilities, transport, urban design and placemaking technologies and ideas, including self-driving vehicles, with the Australian Government recently announced as a …