DDA Applied to Street Furniture: Drinking Fountains
It is vital to ensure that public amenities cater to the diverse needs of all individuals. This article explores the implementation of the Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and Australian Standards 1428.2 in the design and installation of accessible drinking fountains in the public realm.
The DDA makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person in many aspects of public life, including accessing public places, because of their disability.
Street Furniture Australia’s Arqua Fountain is suitable for people using wheelchairs, and is also comfortable for people with a disability who are on their feet, according to independent testing by Mark Relf, Access Consultant with Accessibility Solutions.
Where AS1428.2 generally assumes a front-on approach to a drinking fountain, the Arqua Fountain provides a wider range of access for wheelchair users through a side-on approach.
Underside clearance is a necessity for people who use wheelchairs. AS1428.2 recommends a range of 640-650mm above the ground. Arqua provides even greater variation for users, with clearance of 680-900mm on the standard model. Where children are focus users of a site, such as in playgrounds or schools, Arqua can be tailored to a child-friendly height.
Arqua Fountain wheelchair circulation approaches and access paths, total area 3600x1800mm.
Arqua Fountain tailored to a child-friendly height.
The Street Furniture Australia factory, in Regents Park, Western Sydney, is both a manufacturing hub and R&D studio for our Australian-designed and made street furniture products. We run fun and informative group events for customers throughout the year, to share how products are designed, tested and built, and the latest products and projects. Director of Tract Julie Lee said: “It was a great opportunity for our team to look behind the scenes and understand the innovation, research and climate positive outcomes Street Furniture Australia is focusing on. Thank you for having us!” Place Design Group Associate, Liam Isaksen, said: “The factory tour is a fun experience to learn about the design and manufacturing process of public furniture we use in landscape architecture design. Seeing the work behind the scenes and …
Did you catch these most-read case studies, furnishing tips, new product announcements and special industry events in your StreetChat updates in 2023? Each month our StreetChat enewsletter publishes new projects, products and trends from the public domain; subscribe to receive it in your inbox. 10. Which design firm can see Longhorn Cattle from their office window? 2 countries. 9 cities. 300 landscape architects. Street Furniture Australia and USA partner Spruce & Gander visited offices in Australia and Texas. There were key similarities and some notable standouts. 9. Jazz at The Mint: Product and Book Launch Sydney landscape architects gathered at the iconic Mint Courtyard to launch a design book by our founding directors Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison, and expansions to the Linea collection. 8. 2023 Good Cause Giveaway goes to …
Street Furniture Australia has designed and built prototype charging stands as part of a Transport for NSW program to deliver free phone chargers at 15 Sydney train stations. Developed by Street Furniture Australia’s inhouse industrial designers in collaboration with Transport for NSW, the prototypes offer wireless, USB-A and USB-C charging, and can power 7 devices at once. They were built at the Street Furniture Australia factory in Western Sydney. Two Power Spots are now installed at Liverpool and Campbelltown stations. The $1 million Power Spots Project rollout to 15 transport hubs including Bankstown, Hurstville, Lidcombe, Penrith, Wynyard, Central, Town Hall and Bondi Junction will be completed by late 2024. NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the Power Spots provide peace of mind: “In the modern world, our phones are our …
Under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992, known as DDA, public places must be accessible to people with a disability. The DDA is relevant to many aspects of street furniture. This article focuses on two products: Why is DDA important? DDA is part of universal design, which places human diversity at the forefront so places meet the needs of all users, regardless of age, size, disability or ability. It ensures that public spaces can be enjoyed by everyone. Ageing populations worldwide further increase demand for accessible design, to help people navigate and move through cities independently and in comfort. According to the UN’s World Population Prospects: the 2019 Revision, the number of people aged 80 years or over is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million …
StreetChat delves into Jan Gehl’s iconic book ‘Life Between Buildings’ to bring you a summary on how to place seats in the city. “Only when opportunities for sitting exist can there be stays of any duration,” he says. Seats are crucial to the success of a public space. The good news is that they are a relatively cheap and easy to install solution for improving an outdoor environment. Point 1. Location, location Good opportunities for sitting mean people can comfortably eat, read, people-watch and socialise. And this can only happen when conditions are just right. Gehl advises: A comfortable relationship to the sun and wind creates a good microclimate, essential for sitting. Benches placed in the middle of open spaces may look good in drawings, but on site can feel …
Also see our 2019 article: ‘How to Apply DDA to Street Furniture: Seats and Tables.’ Architect and design expert Ron Yuen explains DDA compliance in relation to Street Furniture Australia’s design and manufacturing processes. What is the DDA? The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (‘the DDA’) makes it against the law for public places to be inaccessible to people with a disability. A person with a disability has a right to have access to places used by the public. New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia have each developed transport action plans and strategies with a commitment to accessible transport compliant with the DDA and Transport Standards. The Transport Standards requires all modes of public transport in Australia to be accessible by 2022 and has minimum compliance milestones to be …
