What are the qualities of the best street furniture?

Whether you are looking to upgrade outdoor seating areas in a town centre or have been tasked with improving the safety of an inner-city area with traffic and protection barriers, what qualities should you look for to source the best street furniture?

We are going to split the qualities into two main types:

• Physical – qualities you can see and touch
• Intangible or mental – qualities that the street furniture brings to the surrounding area

 Physical qualities to consider when choosing your street furniture

Finding the right designs to enhance your space, build quality, practical benefits, and safety are the real tangible qualities you should consider for your street furniture.

They sound like an obvious choice, but it is surprising how often these qualities are overlooked simply because the project budget has been reduced.

We understand cost is one of the main drivers for product selection and specification within construction projects.

Initial product selections by urban planners or architects are substituted later down the line when the powers that be dictate that the budget needs to be value engineered. This leaves the subcontractor a difficult task trying to source high quality street furniture that stands the test of time and matches a similar level to the original specification.

Referring back to the list of qualities, design and build quality should be at the forefront of your requirements. Public spaces are given much more thought and design than in previous years, and it’s important to understand the space around your project when choosing your street furniture.

Safety is also paramount, especially as your furniture will be going into the public domain. The location of your street furniture is important and shouldn’t pose any kind of hazard.

Intangible qualities to look out for with your street furniture

Street furniture is now much more than offering practical furniture for a public space. It is used to promote social connections, encourage people to engage with the environment, and can also help to reduce anti-social behaviour.

Benches and seats are a simple and effective way to promote social connections in a public space. They encourage people to sit down, socialise and connect with others.

Also, using furniture such as planters or tree protection are a great way to enhance a public area, and again in turn will help people to connect with each other as they will want to spend time in that area.

This is where people are encouraged to engage with the environment and gives them a reason to spend time outdoors. This in turn promotes increased physical and mental wellbeing such as improved mood, reduced anxiety, and increased levels of self-esteem.

Finally, street furniture has the quality of reducing anti-social behaviour. Bins are a popular choice to reduce littering, as well as tree protection railings which help protect the environment.

Final thoughts

There is a lot to consider when buying street furniture for outside spaces. The more obvious physical qualities such as quality, design, practicality, and safety.

But also, how does the furniture affect people and their behaviour? Street furniture nowadays is about fostering social connections, encouraging people to spend time outdoors, and about reducing anti-social behaviour by supporting people to care for the local environment.

If you are working on a project that requires street furniture, talk to the team at Street Furniture Direct.

Our straightforward and down-to-earth approach helps sub-contractors find the piece of street furniture quickly and easily, meaning you spend more time on carrying out the building work. Telephone us on 01625 879 442, email us at enquiries@streetfurnituredirect.co.uk or view our range of street furniture, bollards, cycle parking, shelters or lockers.