Background

Urban furniture consists of objects and equipment installed in public areas of urban settlements. Typical examples of urban furniture include street lights, traffic signs, bus shelters, and dustbins on the street; fountains and monumental art in public squares; benches, kiosks, and playgrounds in parks; exercise and skate parks; information signs and maps in tourist areas; and so forth. Street furniture must be functional and robust enough to withstand the weather and daily interactions with thousands of residents, while also enhancing the visual style of the city. An interesting way of financing urban furniture has emerged in recent years, whereby the manufacturers will provide, install, and maintain urban furniture with attached advertising hoardings, in a city for free, and in exchange the urban furniture manufacturer gets to pocket the substantial revenues from advertising. However it is funded, urban furniture is an essential component of the urban infrastructure by providing people with vital information, by encouraging community interactions, and improving the physical health and well-being of those residents.
 

The design brief

Design urban furniture for a park or urban area of your choosing in your neighbourhood or town. Your urban furniture may provide visitors and residents with resting places, leisure spots, picnic areas or anything that you choose. Consider the needs of the users of urban furniture, their health and safety, and well-being too. The goal is to enhance the quality of life of the residents and visitors. You may design one piece of furniture or a set of different furniture pieces. Build a small-scale model of your urban furniture design concept. Alternatively, you may build a computer-aided design (CAD) model of your design concept, if you prefer. Work on this project in a small team with a group of your classmates.
 

The design thinking process

​​​​​​​Follow the six stages of the design thinking process to ensure that you are thorough and do everything necessary to succeed in your design project. First, you endeavour to understand the design topic and EMPATHISE with the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DEFINE what is essential to the product or system that you are designing. Then you IDEATE, that is, you creatively come up with ideas and develop them. The next step is to PROTOTYPE your chosen design solution in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Then you TEST your design idea to elicit the opinions of users. And finally, at the end of the process, you REFLECT upon your project to benefit from the experience. Use the appropriate methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you proceed along the design thinking process.
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Note for teachers

Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the PROTOTYPE Stage for Level IV to safely supervise this design project.