Smart Furniture Talk Coming to the PLA Conference in Perth
Smart furniture can promote greater community engagement with the outdoors in parks and open spaces, for better health and wellbeing.
Since 2016 Street Furniture Australia has invested in multiple award-winning smart city research collaborations with government and universities.
Join Street Furniture Australia’s Head of Innovation June Lee Boxsell to hear about the research results and lessons learnt from three key case studies, and the latest street furniture innovations, at the 2019 Parks and Leisure Conference in Perth.
Time: 4.40pm, Monday October 28, 2019 (conference day two). Venue: Crown Perth, Great Eastern Hwy, Perth WA Registration: Packages available from Parks and Leisure Australia (PLA).
The PLA Conference focuses on the importance of linking parks, open spaces and facilities to health, well-being and sporting performance – with talks and events from October 27 to 30 in Perth.
A preview of our talk, ‘Smart Furniture Revolution,’ is below.
Case Study 1: ChillOUT
How might we increase community connectivity, enable knowledge exchange and provide flexible spaces to meet, work and play?
Street Furniture Australia, collaborating with Georges River Council and UNSW, will share the learnings from current project ChillOUT, funded by the federal Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.
Installation has begun on three smart hubs in Sydney’s south-west in a town centre, green suburban park and busy streetscape.
ChillOUT Hubs by Street Furniture Australia, UNSW and Georges River Council.
Case Study 2: #BackyardExperiment
How might we transform a grey thoroughfare into a warm, family-friendly destination?
Gain insights from the #BackyardExperiment activation of Garema Place in Canberra (2016), a collaboration with AILA and the ACT Government. An eight-day design intervention with furniture, art and colour, lighting and lawn – created unexpected results.
The project caused a 190% rise in foot traffic, 247% more dwellers, and an incredible 631% more children were seen enjoying the space.
Case Study 3: Woden Experiment
How might we bring life, joy and comfort to Woden Town Square?
Street Furniture Australia was engaged by ACT Government to use human-centred research methodologies to deeply understand the hearts and minds of the Woden community. The findings were used to form the brief for a six-month activation.
Woden Experiment is still up and running and has recently been extended for another six months by ACT Minister Chris Steel.
Woden Experiment from the air, during an abseiling day by the PCYC. Photo: Canberra PCYC.
Street Furniture Innovations
Technology is now a fundamental part of Street Furniture Australia’s new product development process. Below are some of the latest innovations from the R&D team.
Add charging to outdoor furniture with PowerMe.Design your own Aria and visualise it anywhere with the Build Aria augmented reality app. Understand the latest smart materials and finishes to minimise maintenance.
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 …
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 …
The City of Canterbury Bankstown transformed a section of North Terrace in Bankstown into an interactive experience for a week in June. The Future Street exhibit showcased how landscape, infrastructure and technology may advance the city to become more liveable, productive and sustainable. Future Street Canterbury-Bankstown also highlighted two of the city’s major projects under consultation: the ‘Smart CBCity Roadmap‘ and ‘Bankstown Complete Streets Transport and Place Plan‘. The 2019 pop-up follows the original 2017 Future Street activation, held in front of Customs House in Circular Quay – a project designed by Place Design Group with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Smart Cities Council ANZ and the Internet of Things Alliance Australia. To help demonstrate these ideas, product vendors including Street Furniture Australia, Smart Sensor, Lime, Andreasen’s Green and …
