A First Look at Georges River Council’s Prototype ChillOUT Hubs
Installing the solar panels.
We’re pleased to share that the construction of our three ChillOUT Hubs is nearing completion, part of a pilot study for the Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.
ChillOUT Hubs are smart, open-air community spaces. The prototype installations offer people a free, comfortable place to meet, work and play. They also enable asset managers to monitor utilities, visitation and the microclimate.
The official launch will take place in February 2020. The collaborative team of Georges River Council, UNSW and Street Furniture Australia will also host a series of events including a Council Knowledge Exchange, industry hackathon and tours to site.
The data at the Kogarah hub is now live on UNSW’s smart asset management dashboard.
Street art is scheduled to go onto the ground plane, with cooling pavement paint.
This ChillOUT Hub offers a place to take a break along a busy thoroughfare, connecting the train station, hospital, library and offices. Office workers may choose to work outdoors, connecting to WiFi and plugging in laptops.
Visitors paused on their journey from station to hospital, or used the hub at lunch.Installing the smart tree prototypes. Aria connectors make a prototype seat around the smart tree.
A Town Centre – Mortdale
The ChillOUT Hub prototype in Mortdale tests a completely off-the-grid solar powered solution. The solar panels are now up and running. Cooling paint supergraphics are also scheduled for installation at this site.
Installed in the heart of a suburban town centre, it is a central meeting point for locals to dine, rest and catch up.
Mortdale’s ChillOUT features a long table for community meetings and lunch. Assembling the solar panels and smart tree shades.Installing the smart tree prototypes.
A Park – Timothy Reserve, Hurstville
This hub is now installed, with more greenery added to the planters. Data is live from the smart trees, and a weather station is set up. A smart fountain will also be installed to gather more data.
This ChillOUT prototype offers a place for picnics, parties and family gatherings. Plug in a speaker for music, and keep devices charged. The lookout table is designed for parents to comfortably supervise children in the playground.
The Timothy Reserve ChillOUT Hub. Assembling the prototype smart tree. Construction underway on the Timothy Reserve ChillOUT Hub.
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 …
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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 …
Configure Aria seats and benches with the new desktop Build Aria app – simply drag and drop the modules into place, change the colours and switch up the arms and legs. 1. Select your base Aria. Add 1, 2 or 3 seater sections, or connector panels. 2. Experiment with colours and materials for the frames and battens. Apply to the whole seat, or just one section – including the backrest. 3. Add arms. Change the legs between Post, Splay or a combination of both. 4. Take a photo of your masterpiece. Download the image, or email it to yourself. The email will include a code for ordering your Aria configuration. Build Aria is also available with augmented reality on iPhone and iPad, free to download on the App Store.
How might we increase community connectivity, enable knowledge exchange and provide flexible spaces to meet, work and play? ChillOUT, a collaborative project by Georges River Council, UNSW and Street Furniture Australia, seeks to answer this question. Cities are becoming compact. With this increase in high density living there is greater pressure on public space to provide opportunities to rest, connect with community and immerse in nature. What are ChillOUT Hubs? ChillOUT Hubs are prototype smart open-air community spaces. Each hub is configured using a modular system of Smart Tree shade structures, street furniture and integrated technology. They feature public WiFi, device charging, seats and tables, smart bins, smart drinking fountains, lighting, planter boxes and artwork. One of the sites – in Mortdale – runs via solar power. Sensors will monitor …
Georges River Council’s partnership with UNSW and Street Furniture Australia has received a Highly Commended Award for Cross Sectoral Collaboration at the 2019 Smart City Awards by the Committee for Sydney. The awards celebrate projects and partnerships that address the fundamental challenges faced by cities, governments, industry and communities in Greater Sydney. The three partners were recognised for their collaboration on creating smart social spaces that improve the amenity and user experience of public open spaces, as well as helping to mitigate urban heat island effects at the micro level. The trio is one of the few teams to win both Round 1 and Round 2 grants from the Australian Government’s $50m Smart Cities and Suburbs Program. The Round 1 project, Smart Social Spaces, investigated how smart furniture can be …
