With great sadness we announce the passing of Darrel Conybeare, co-founding Director of Conybeare Morrison (CM+) and Street Furniture Australia.
Darrel is perhaps best known for his pioneering work improving the design of cities in Australia and internationally, over a career of more than 60 years as an architect, city planner and urban designer, and for his lifelong commitment to the quality of the public domain through the design and manufacture of street furniture.
His celebrated work to transform Macquarie Street and Circular Quay for the 1988 Bicentennial Celebrations, together with his creative master planning input for the Sydney 2000 Olympics are but two of his major high profile career achievements which showcase his passion and drive for city making. He helped establish urban design in its infancy as an essential design process and defined the true spirit and art of the discipline.
After being awarded First Class Honours and the University Medal at Sydney University in 1962, Darrel studied in America at the University of Pennsylvania attaining a Master of Architecture and Master of Civic Design, going on to work at high profile practices, including, by invitation, that of Charles and Ray Eames in Los Angeles. On return to Australia, he made a major contribution to the 1971 City of Sydney Strategic Plan as environmental and urban design director, before founding an ambitious multidisciplinary practice, Planning Workshop, and going on to establish Conybeare Morrison (1980), Street Furniture Australia (1986) together with Bill Morrison, and Context Landscape Design (1991) with both Bill and Oi Choong.
Darrel was an inspiration with his curious and constant stream of new ideas, and his gentle and thoughtful leadership style. He was a champion of city making, a true visionary, teacher, poet, mentor and a friend to many.
A celebration of Darrel’s life was held on Tuesday 11 February 2025 at Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay, on Sydney Harbour in a fitting tribute to his contribution to the establishment and practice of urban design in Australia. Speakers provided a colourful picture of Darrel from childhood onward and included family members, school friends, clients and high-profile members of the architectural profession. It was a joyful but sorrowful farewell.
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 …
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 …
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 …
