Make an enquiry
0

My Enquiry List
(0 products)

You can tell us about any specific requirements including finishes and project requirements once you confirm your enquiry list below.

    Stay in touch

    Leave your details and we'll keep you in the loop with all the latest news and podcast releases.

    We'll need some info

    Drop us your details below for access to our CAD library.

    Scroll

    The spaces we use, and how we use them, shape the environments around us – and are influenced, in part, by the location in which they’re placed. A bench placed in a retail park is different to one tucked away in a corner of a public garden, and the people who frequent each location are different in turn.

    furnitubesblog-benchbenchplanetbench-uk2

    The United Kingdom’s boundless opportunities for building are a blank canvas of possible connection and community – but with each varied space requiring varied outcomes, and varied adaptations to ensure that those outcomes are met, it’s not simply a case of putting a bench in a beautiful location. While the idea starts from there – a bench, a beautiful location, and a community in dire need of a place to go – there are more considerations to keep in mind, such as the community it services, and all the different people within that community.

    Furniture design, historically, has catered to a certain small segment of the population: the able-bodied, the wealthy, and the ones who are more likely to have the free time to go and find a nice place to sit in outdoor spaces. Outdoor furniture design, while more egalitarian, still has the issue of usability. 

    This is where modularity in outdoor furniture design saves the day. 

    A question of purpose

    A single piece of furniture has to serve its community, but community requirements have changed greatly from the earliest days of public parks and public benches. 

    Modular furniture design can take a single opportunity for furnishing – a park bench in a nice location – and provide multiple uses, all in one. Curved seating, such as what we built for The Conduit, in London, turns corners into further seating opportunities, providing spaces both for those who prefer to be at the heart of a conversation, and those who prefer to sit on the outer edges, enjoying the atmosphere without necessarily being right in the centre of things.

     

    Curved railroad seat on the conduit club rooftop

    It would be disingenuous to build seating that is centred solely around sitting: brightly lit, centralised, and difficult to find a space in for yourself. As the notion of community itself  evolves, seating should change with it – after all, the best way to foster use of a place is to ensure that it meets the needs of the people who are more likely to benefit from it. 

    Similarly, designing seating in more configurations than straight lines can make the best use of smaller spaces where the physical limitations can be a struggle to build around. Moreover, building seating with different elements – such as arm-rests, back-rests, or with gaps in the seating arrangement itself – means that whoever needs a little extra help has that, within their own capabilities. 

    Outdoor spaces are meeting spaces. They are community spaces. Any seating or seating arrangement that prioritises connection and community will benefit from building these connecting points. 

    Canterbury High St-30

    A question of possibility

    Different locations will have different building requirements, such as a minimum level of support needed to adhere to a brick-retaining structure, or size constraints that have to be planned around. 

    Modular furniture, designed in separate units, can limit these concerns. 

    Each individual unit can be taken on its own or as a collection, removing the limitations on what’s possible for a given space. The same bench that might not fit that particular location can have another in its place, servicing the same area with the same outcome of community-building – and working around the requirements set out by the space itself. 

    For our Canterbury High Street project, completed in 2024, the area which so desperately needed seating had six large, old trees that added a lot of character and beauty to the area, and provided shade for both the residents and the local wildlife. Removing them would have removed a great element of the Canterbury High Street, but other benches would have sat unevenly underneath the branches. Developing curved seating, one that wrapped around each tree, allowed us to build a community space that took the beauty of Canterbury High Street and made it far more accessible. 

    A question of changing needs 

    As communities grow, the furniture that was lovingly installed back when the community was smaller might need to change. Space could become available, or shrink; the community might need additional seating, or more greenery to enhance their day to day. Regardless of the need, the space could need a change. 

    With a modular system, that change doesn’t affect the entire installation: only that part of it that can grow and adapt. This cuts down on the price – it’s a single seat, rather than a full furniture set – but also reduces the quantity of waste. A modular system designs for, and plans around, only what you need, no matter the size or scale. 

    As the community ages, for example, you might find that installing helpful elements such as arm rests will see a higher portion of locals potentially using the area. Changing demographics – such as more young families moving into your area – might require more playful elements, like colourful seating, or planters where the youngest ones can learn about the world we live in. 

    furnitubesblog-benchbenchplanetbench-park
    DIRFT-33

    Designing spaces thoughtfully

    Modular seating designs are made with the intention of being both stand-alone, and as part of a unit. Its adaptability offers a host of benefits for the community, but also for the architect, the retail manager, and the council looking for additional ways to brighten their community. Additionally, because it can be  created in separate units, it might be a more cost-effective way of adding seating when you’re able to, leaving room and space for further changes once your community, or your circumstances, vary. 

    The way we use the spaces around us says a lot about our needs at the moment. During COVID-19, the public garden visitations soared; as the threat vanished, the numbers remained high, and as a result, public use has changed. This has happened over years,  and will continue to happen as the communities that use the space make it their home. 

    Offering them the flexibility, and the opportunity, to make these spaces truly their own isn’t just a kindness: as we heard in our Festival of Place, it can be the greatest opportunity to create a better world that supports everyone equally.