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How to Design the Best Public Bench for Your New Public Space

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When you are designing a public space, whether it is a landscaping a park or a designing a town square, it is easy to get carried away thinking about the overall design that you want to create. You tend to overlook more practical features, such as helpful signage, and street furniture, such as benches and litter bins. Litter bins may not be the most exciting design feature, but they play a vital role in keeping the environment clean and ensuring that everyone can enjoy the area. While your architectural designs may be creative and your use of space imaginative, it will be hard for people to appreciate your work or to use the space effectively if you do not provide somewhere for them to sit and talk or just to rest for a while.

Practical considerations for your benches

One of the most important things to address is the materials you will use to construct your street furniture. Think carefully about the environmental factors that could impact your design. Consider whether a wooden or a metal bench would be better. Will a wooden bench rot away too quickly? Will a metal bench become too hot for comfort if the area is sunny for a large part of the time?

Overall, think about issues of strength and durability. You will want a bench design that is suitable for the intended purpose, being not only comfortable to sit on but also long-lasting so that you are not always spending time and money repairing or replacing it.

Adding style to your street furniture

While street furniture may not seem very exciting, that doesn't mean that it has to be boring or that it needs to be an eyesore. By thinking carefully about the type of street furniture you need, it is possible to find a solution that fits perfectly into the environment you are designing.

Think about the style of street furniture you want. Even practical items such as benches can be given decorative flourishes to augment their design and to create a sense of individuality and style.

A theft-proof solution

In addition to the style, strength and durability of your chosen materials, you will also need to think about deliberate vandalism or theft. Make sure that all of the street furniture you design can be fixed securely in place so that it does not disappear overnight, leaving you with the expensive task of replacing everything. Consider which materials will be least likely to damaged or be vandalised or which can be most easily cleaned if an attack takes place.