out-sider: outside the box thinking for outdoor spaces
Posted on 2nd December 2024
When innovative design is applied to outdoor urban spaces, developers, architects and site owners have the power to create or transform communities that can enrich people’s lives. The best results are achieved through ‘out of the box’ thinking to ensure new outdoor spaces offer the optimum mix of sustainability, aesthetics and functionality, and no street furniture manufacturer understands this more than Bailey Street Furniture Group (BSFG) partner out-sider.
With its dedication to “rethinking urban space”, the Danish company’s approach to its products is unique in the market. Its strong roots in Scandinavian design tradition, characterised by aesthetics and functionality are evident in its products, which includes the Loop and Plateau ranges available from BSFG.
The name “out-sider” originates from the company’s courage to be different and think innovatively. One of the ways it does this is to collaborate with designers and customers to design and manufacture urban furniture that challenges the status quo. Whilst out-sider is not afraid to use form, colours and materials in new and innovative ways, their focus is always on aesthetics, user-friendliness, and sustainability in all its street furniture products.
Creating more sustainable street furniture solutions
Sustainability is a major driver for out-sider’s products. It seeks to use highly durable materials that require minimal maintenance with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of its products overall.
The sustainability of out-sider’s plastic is enhanced by the fact that it uses recycled consumer waste or bio-based materials. In fact, they even offer a 100% recycled version of PE (Polyethylene) coloured in anthracite, which can be specified for Loop and Plateau products.
Another dimension to out-sider’s sustainable products is the fact that the company measures and reduces the CO2 footprint in all its PE products. Throughout the plastic manufacturing process, accurate CO2 values are determined for each product and material.
This commitment to sustainability is reflected in out-sider being compliant with one of the world's toughest environmental certifications - the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. This applies to its #20 Recycled Anthracite PE which is used to manufacture products in the Loop family, consisting of 85% recycled polyethylene and 15% re-used plastic bags.
Eye-catching, original street furniture design
Key to the appeal of out-sider’s products is the creativity it demonstrates both in terms of form and materials. By applying innovative thinking, the company has developed designs are that adaptable across a range of sectors, including residential, urban public realm and university campuses.
This is exemplified by the out-sider Loop range, one of the ranges available from Artform Urban. These are vibrant, colourful street furniture pieces made from rotationally moulded plastic that can brighten and energise all kinds of urban spaces. Loop was conceived by AaRT Designers, the design department of AART architects, who are renowned for their work on innovative, integrated, client-specific development projects across the range of architectural scales.
The Loop range offers street furniture elements including Loop Circle, a circular seating solution which can be used indoors and out and offers sociable seating for 4-6 people, and Loop Picnic Up, a group formed of the Loop Cone table and six encircling Loop Up seats, ideal for creating small, informal seating groups.
Similarly high quality design is evident in the out-sider Plateau range which offers durable street furniture products made from High-Pressure Laminate (HPL). This range was designed by Holscher Design, an award winning design consultancy originally founded as an independent design studio in 1995 by the renowned architect and industrial designer Knud Holscher, one of the most influential designers in Scandinavia.
The Plateau range offers seating solutions which take an interesting form, including the Plateau Bench and Plateau Plinth. There are also options for seating with tables and picnic tables which take an equally interesting shape, such as the Plateau Picnic I.
Supported by a powerful design tool
One of the ways out-sider helps clients to achieve the most creative results when considering its street furniture ranges is through its ViZU tool. This online resource allows users to mock up and visualise spaces using out-sider products, with the functionality to start from a blank page, import blueprints or create from a pre-existing template.
This allows projects to be visualised with ease, enabling faster and easier delivery of conceptual design solutions, saving time and providing the opportunity to achieve professional and clear presentations of the Loop and Plateau families of products at an early stage.
Perfect for educational and SEN environments
BSFG has worked with clients to incorporate out-sider’s products into a diverse range of environments. One sector where its products have shown great versatility is the education sector, including facilities designed for young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
One such project was Red Kite View, a state-of-the-art Children and Young Peoples' Mental Health Service (CYPMHS) inpatient unit in West Yorkshire. Here, Artform Urban provided colourful external furniture elements including Loop Cone Table, Loop Corner Bench, Loop Line Bench and Loop Circle Bench.
In another education sector project, BSFG division AMV Playgrounds was tasked to supply sheltered cycle storage and colourful rotationally moulded plastic seating for the Clifton Centre Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Clifton, Greater Manchester. This is a specialised educational facility catering for students who require additional support and intervention due to challenging behaviour, learning difficulties, or other factors.
In order to create a safe, welcoming, and conducive learning environment, AMV Playgrounds was tasked to supply and install sheltered cycle parking and vibrant rotationally moulded plastic seating solutions including out-sider’s Lava seat and HopOp 500 stools.
Meeting the durability demands of the public realm
The appeal of out-sider products in the public realm is evident in a project delivered by Artform Urban at the Quayside, Newcastle. Here, Loop Light Orange was selected for a project to enhance a location renowned for its scenic views of the River Tyne to increase footfall, attract new businesses, and create a vibrant urban quarter with a distinct brand identity.
A range of Loop Benches in a striking orange colour, complete with LED lighting was specified, providing functional seating and creating illuminated landmarks to enhance the area's ambience during both day and night. The optimal placement of the Loop Benches was achieved by considering factors such as pedestrian flow, sightlines, and accessibility, and they were securely anchored to the ground to withstand high winds and prevent theft or vandalism.
Reaching new heights with roof terraces
The durability of out-sider’s products makes them particularly appealing in locations which are continuously exposed to weather conditions, particularly rooftops as two Artform Urban projects demonstrate.
In the Anaconda Cut project in Manchester, a 44 storey apartment building which is one of the tallest in Greater Manchester, a communal roof terrace and sky lounge was incorporated to offer panoramic views across the cityscape. Artform Urban provided external seating, tables and planters for the roof terraces using a variety of Loop products plus HopOp 500, out-sider’s maintenance-free sit and jump bollard.
Their lightweight nature was appealing here due to easy manoeuvrability, material durability and a wide range of colour options. Loop range products do not need to be permanently fixed down as they can be filled with either sand or, in the case of Anaconda Cut, water, adding ballast weight to take a product with an initial weight of 37kg to in excess of 250kg.
And at Ten Traffic Street in Nottingham, HopOp 500 was also supplied by Artform Urban. This was part of an extensive package including outdoor seating, tables, planters and litter bins to create an attractive, vibrant roof terrace as part of a brand new, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) development.
Making a statement on university campuses
One further interesting application for out-sider products is on university campuses as a project by Artform Urban in 2018 at Royal Holloway, University of London illustrates. In this project, 14 Plateau Picnic Tables were selected for the building’s external social areas with the aim of creating spaces for studying and socialising.
Durability was a key consideration here, which is why the High-Pressure Laminate (HPL) material used in the manufacture of these picnic tables was an ideal fit for a busy location in an architecturally sensitive location. The tables are now part of one of what is regarded as one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, and the Plateau-L picnic set also helps to maximise accessibility thanks to its DDA-compliant design.
