Latest News & Views
Product Showcase: Apollo 900
Drinking Fountains shouldn’t be boring.
When designing the Apollo 900, it wasn’t enough to create a drinking fountain which was practical, hard wearing, vandal resistant and provided disabled access. No, we wanted to design a fountain that looked amazing.
And that’s what we’ve done with the Apollo 900. The ‘big brother’ to our very popular 300 series, the 900 offers all of the same practical features with a fresh, new look. At home in any urban streetscape, this drinking fountain is sleek, modern and funky. Coming in a range of colours and effects it will work with any development project and is a great way to add that WOW factor.
Why We Love Working with Timber
Plastic fantastic – No Way
Timber has so many amazing qualities which make it a great material to design with. From its natural warmth to its environmental attributes – we like using a variety of timbers at Urban FF.
With such huge variation in colours, stains and finishes, timber is a really flexible street furniture design material. Whether it is a traditional, heritage look or a clean modern feel – timber can be the perfect solution.
Timber is also a great material for the Australian climate. It ages well, develops a beautiful, softened patina over time and is very easily refreshed.
An added bonus with using wood as a design material is its standing as an easily renewable resource. As wood continues to store carbon after it has been harvested it is great from an environmental perspective.
Warm, beautiful, sustainable, sturdy and flexible – street furniture built with timber has so many positive qualities.
Street Furniture as Art
When street furniture adds value to a space.
Architecture is important; it adds so much to the beauty of an area. Think of the great cities of the world, Paris, New York, London – walking the streets of these beautiful, vibrant places is like walking through an art gallery – the space, lines, use of beautiful materials, playing with conventions all make everyday urban landscapes a feast for the eyes.
Let’s apply that approach to designing street furniture. As designers, we have the ability to take the ordinary, the simply functional and transform it into a beautiful piece of street art.
Why mass produce just a bench seat, when with design thought and attention to detail, you can produce a piece that not only “fits” in a streetscape but adds to it. A piece of furniture that is just as enjoyable to look at as it is to use.
This approach is well established in interior design and architecture – imagine a world without a Phillipe Stark Ghost Chair, the Castiglioni Arco lamp or Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. They take the primarily functional and transform them into iconic statements. Let’s take street furniture to the next level; using beautiful, textural materials to create interesting, non-conventional furniture to bring more value to any urban landscape.
Gabions
Urban Fountains and Furniture were excited to work in consultation with Boyds Bay Landscaping on the manufacture of custom designed Gabions for the refurbishment of Hayman Island Resort. The Gabions were exclusively designed by Jamie Durie Design who were integral in the redesign process of the cyclone ravaged Hayman Island resort.
To see how they have made a stunning addition to the resort visit the case study page.
New Anti Slip Tree Grate Coating
Urban has a new Anti Slip Finish available for our extensive range of tree grates. The new Anti Slip finish has been given a “W” rating to Australian Standards for anti slip on footpaths.
The Anti slip finish is a good alternative to standard powder coating in high pedestrian traffic areas where there is increased risk of slipping ie pedestrian shopping malls and schools.
The new Anti Slip finish is applied to the grates after the galavnising process and prior to painting and is available in a variety of colours.
University of Queensland Seating Project
Urban Fountains and Furniture were excited to work in consultation with JW Concepts and The University of Queensland, St Lucia, on the design and manufacture of custom made seating for their new open air courtyard.
Three separate types of seating were required. Custom designed curve seats, in ground modular seats and wall mounted seating for large planter boxes. Visit out project case study page to check out all the shots!
New Apollo 600 Disabled Access Drinking Fountain
Urban Fountains and Furniture are pleased to announce the launch of their new disabled accessible drinking fountain. The Apollo 600 is the latest addition to the Apollo range of fountains that have all been specifically designed to enable use by wheelchair dependents as well as able bodied members of the public.
The new Apollo 600 is a no nonsense, strong, robust and practical fountain. The Apollo 600 is the disabled accessible version of the popular SU 600, and follows on from that popular design. It retains many of the practical functionalities of that model with just a newer, more dynamic body design for disabled accessibility. The unique water activator button requires minimal effort to deploy allowing easy water delivery for adults, children and the disabled.
Like all Urban’s fountains, it is durable and vandal resistant. It also has the convenient options of adding a tap and a dog bowl attachment or a water bottle filler.
Exciting New Steel Rod Products
Urban Fountains and Furniture are pleased to announce the launch of 2 new pieces to their range of Steel Rod Bench Seats. The SB5 Seat and the PT05 Picnic Setting are the latest additions to the Urban range of seating that have all been ergonomically designed for maximum comfort when sitting.
Manufactured using steel plate and round bar the seats and tables are extremely strong and able to withstand the toughest climatic and environmental conditions. They are perfect for park and Urban settings where there is high volume use.
Seats are available in powder coated mild steel, stainless steel, or just galvanised finish. Skateboard stoppers can be added at time of fabrication if required. Decorative logos or motifs can be added or laser cut in keeping with the look or theme of any project.
Recent Project – Kangaroo Point Park
Urban Fountains and Furniture were excited to work in consultation with Queensland Project Services on the design and manufacture of custom made watering points for Kangaroo Point Park, Brisbane.
In addition to the custom watering points the project also included a number of our own Apollo 900 Drinking Fountains and several tree grates and surrounds. To find out how it turned out, click here.
