Greening the grey: Reopening the outdoors

We long to be together again united in outside spaces, a shopping trip with friends or a picnic in the park but how can street furniture be used as a permanent solution in our way out of the pandemic?

The coronavirus pandemic left a huge footprint on the world and its impact has undoubtably changed our lives forever. Architects, urban planners, designers and local authorities have been made to rethink the built environment and are adapting designs to make our public spaces safe post-lockdown. With a long-term need for social distancing measures including wider paths and walkways, more spaced seating and touch-free amenities, street furniture will play a vital part in the reopening of our high streets and city centres.

AKRI planter with integrated timber seating in Newington- Green

Retrofitting

The beauty of retrofitting is that optional components can be added at a later date to enhance and adapt existing site furniture. We realise that seating in the public realm or shopping centres will need to be adapted to adhere to social distancing guidelines and retrofitting is a useful and cost-effective way for local councils and contractors to easily transform spaces. The addition of armrests can provide more space between sitting visitors or adding a planter filled with beautiful plants can also be an attractive and non-intrusive way to integrate this. It is also important to think about hygiene and ensuring that street furniture is easy to clean and the option to retrofit provides easy maintenance.

Our AKRI 600 planter range is a great example of this – AKRI provides a versatile solution for creating raised planting schemes in any public area bringing nature, trees and plants together in one space. Its flexibility means that optional add-on seating with or without backrests, can be integrated at design stage or retrofitted at a later date.

View AKRI range

woman sat on railroad parklet in vauxhall

Modular Solutions

Our newest ranges are modular street furniture solutions that you can combine in any way you like to create unique designs. Choosing a modular solution provides the ability to create unique street furniture designs that are fully adaptable and configurable. But how will this help in a post-covid world you ask? Well with the increasing need to create outdoor spaces that people feel safe and secure in, by choosing a modular solution the products are flexible to create covid safe social spaces (like single use seats and using planters as dividers between seating provision, the addition of arm rests can also act as a divider to separate people when sitting). A modular solution is constructed in easy to assemble parts resulting in needing fewer skilled workers for on-site assembly, allowing projects to complete that otherwise would not meet safety regulations to continue working.

View our modular solution ranges

Freestanding hand sanitiser dispenser inside shopping centre

Sanitiser dispensers

Public safety has been at the forefront of the pandemic since the start and the importance of hand washing has remained and is still as vital as ever. One way to maintain hygiene in public spaces is to ensure that there are adequate hand washing facilities that are easily accessible to the public for use. The right placement can aid effective usage in areas with high footfall such as, reception areas and entrances and exits of shops, hotels and buildings, which are key hot spots for the placement of sanitiser dispensers.

Our Zenith® foot-operated sanitiser dispenser is ideal for public spaces for use indoors or outdoors environments. It is touch free to help reduce the risk of contamination and available in a choice of finishes. The Zenith® Dispenser is part of a wider range of street furniture, including benches, picnic tables, cycle stands, litter bins and bollards.

Shop Sanitiser Dispensers