Context

Benchmark Street Furniture designed and manufactured bespoke, contemporary, colourful seating platforms as part of a huge revamp at Llandaff Fields play park in Cardiff.

Project detail

Cardiff Council's Parks Department worked closely with a number of local primary schools to help generate a range of ideas that they would like to see incorporated into the new park design. The main feature is a large central embankment with a range of play equipment creating a number of fun routes for kids to get up and down.

Work undertaken

Benchmark was tasked with creating three very large and very red platforms-come-seating that could double up as a stage, bench, picnic spots and so on.

The size of the units presented a few challenges:

  • They needed to be shipped in multiple pieces

  • They required forklift access as well as a system to be lowered to surface level

  • The timber top had to have no visible fixings

  • They needed to be movable should the Council want to re-locate them

All of this criteria meant some clever internal engineering and design was needed to create these mammoth benches.

The seating platforms were manufactured using powder-coated zintec steel and bamboo hardwood, resulting in a low-maintenance and hardwearing solution.

Outcome

Overall these three large bespoke items of street furniture have really added to this revamped park, and the materials chosen will allow these platforms to be jumped on for years to come.

The bold new colour palette has helped transform the space into a vibrant and enticing local attraction.