Public spaces are used by local authorities and town councils to create social cohesion. Communal gardens, sports areas, children's playgrounds... These types of meeting places have become essential parts of city life. In addition to social benefits, urban spaces contribute to a city's image: their design improves the quality of life in a city. It is for this reason that designer street furniture accounts for a major part of local authorities' budgets for improving their image.
Local authorities face major challenges when planning urban spaces. They must address practical and aesthetic aspects while improving amenities in public spaces. Francioli offers solutions to make street furniture more stylish.
What do we mean by ""designer street furniture""?
The word “design"" is used to express a stylistic difference from commonplace objects and furnishings. The abstract term takes on its full meaning when contextualized. The aim is to define a new style for the street furniture found in public spaces and to help it stand out from the crowd.
Local authorities: why choose designer street furniture?
The design of public spaces is a genuine opportunity for communities to differentiate themselves in terms of style. It also translates communication efforts into successful visual results. A city's image is a challenge that can take time to get right.
It is also an opportunity to redesign spaces and the ways they are used. A redesign could include the creation of a tree-lined area with benches next to a playground. This would create more greenery for families.
This is just one of the ways in which we could generate a sense of friendship and well-being, and help a community to ""live together"". This is an important criterion that will pique the interest of future property buyers.
Urban design can also enhance the attractiveness and leisure facilities of a town or village. The resulting image will be perceived as being more dynamic. This could help towns to bring in urban events and attract younger audiences and programmes.
Whatever efforts are made by local authorities, the results can only be positive: the important thing is to keep the locations clean, welcoming and pleasant, while keeping an eye on the environmental impacts of the improvements made.
How should you select street furniture ?
The issue here is how to choose modern furniture that will fit in with the identity of a town or village. The choices should be studied in terms of the impacts they will have. We must be careful not go against the habits of users and create constraints. Here are a few tips before you replace your furniture.
Depending on the space available
To make street furniture more stylish, the layout must be designed to suit the space available, without overwhelming it. We must leave enough space for a certain number of users to enjoy the space, even during peak hours. Failure to do so can undermine our efforts and lead to low occupancy rates.
Greener cities
Local authorities have become key players in the fight against pollution. Here we are talking about urban ecology, which defines all actions promoting the environmental transition and our understanding of urban environments. The health crisis made this aspect even more important.
Urban planners must therefore take into account the environmental impacts of the work and the conditions under which it will be carried out.
What types of street furniture can be designer furniture ?
The issues surrounding the renovation of common spaces has been raised before. Many kinds of designer street furniture are available. Francioli offers a range of easy-to-maintain, durable and aesthetically pleasing designer street furniture in a range of contemporary styles which does not require major renovation work.
Designer chairs
Shorter than concrete benches, urban chairs can be anchored to any surface and do not take up too much space. They provide more intimate seating arrangements, allowing people to sit by themselves without occupying an entire bench. This provides a sense of security for the user, creating trust in unfamiliar environments. We offer two types of chair:
- Loft concrete chair: modern styling with stainless steel legs and the seat and back in concrete.
- ALIOTH concrete chair: a contemporary design with the option of customizing the colour.
Designer benches
Benches are, and remain, the flagship item of urban furniture. They are landmarks for people wishing to take a break and relax. Take a break from the traditional wooden bench and go for a new style :
- Loft concrete bench: based on the same style as the ALIOTH chair, it blends perfectly into a refined environment.
- Loft bench: a more sober product with a seat for added comfort.
Designer planters
Urban planters help communities to become greener. They can be adapted to suit a town's style and even become a decorative element. The streets and squares of towns and villages can be decorated with two types of planters:
- The Loft concrete planter: modern, easy-to-maintain planters with a built-in water supply.
- Loft concrete bench planter: a planter in mineralized concrete that also provides a seat for local residents.
