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Winchester High Street seating
In 2009, Factory Furniture was commissioned to design a new range of seating for the city centre of Winchester. The designers sought advice from the Transport Planning, Highways Engineering and Street Cleansing departments, as well as from DDA officers, English Heritage and Winchester Preservation Trust. Factory Furniture was asked to design a
In 2009, Factory Furniture was commissioned to design a new range of seating for the city centre of Winchester.
The designers sought advice from the Transport Planning, Highways Engineering and Street Cleansing departments, as well as from DDA officers, English Heritage and Winchester Preservation Trust.
Factory Furniture was asked to design a seat using locally sourced oak and to use materials with a proven history and relevance to the historic nature of the site.
Other requirements were height adjustability on site to accommodate the extreme slope on the site and the option of a shallow-fix installation method, and limiting foundation depth to 150mm to avoid services and any potential damage to items of historical interest.
Solution
The design featured two removable end-panels that could be replaced with glass plates decorated by local artists at a future date. The seating could also be removed without having to lift surrounding paving.
Outcome
Observational studies have shown that people have quickly taken to using the new seating. The client commented: ‘They look fantastic! Lovely timber colour and finish, and the powder coating looks good too. Spoke to the first group of customers, who declared they were very impressed. Thanks for all your hard work on this!’
