STREET FURNITURE
THE PLACE TO BE
Woodscape recently had the
pleasure of working with Macgregor
Smith Landscape Architects, who
headed up an incredible public
realm enhancement project in the
centre of the World Heritage City of
Bath, which completed in June 2019.
The aim was to enhance the
public realm environment and the
opportunities for people to dwell
by introducing a range of seating
and sculptural elements, expanding
Bath’s iconic character and design
aesthetic into newer areas of the
City.
“As a practice, we’re passionate
about creating positive places within
our cities - encouraging people to
interact with their surroundings and
highlighting the importance of social
spaces and planting within urban
contexts. The SouthGate project
was a real gem for us with such
an emphasis placed on the public
realm, a dedication from the Client
to achieving the highest quality and
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our huge passion for the site given
its location a stone’s throw away
from our studio in Bath. Working
extremely closely with all the
stakeholders meant we were able to
achieve a design that was perfectly
tailored to the unique brief for the
site and it has been an absolute
joy to see all the spaces being so
well used and already feeling like
an integral part of the fabric of the
City.”
Gemma Griffin, Macgregor Smith
The central plaza within the
SouthGate Centre, along with Brunel
Square outside the main train
station, were identified as places
that could be more effectively
utilised for both the everyday, and
for the many events that take place
in Bath throughout the year. With
a variety of literature, music and
art festivals, fetes, and community
events aimed at bringing all ages and
tastes together, the redevelopment
had to be practical, flexible, and of
course inspiring.
The necessary flexibility of the
spaces required planter seats that
were movable to allow reworking
of the area for the various events.
The key circular seat design with
offset tree void was made up from
a combination of timber slats and
intricate bronze fretwork from
Inspired Metal, with Woodscape
bringing the necessary technical
experience required to manufacture
the seats in such a way that they
could be relocated as needed,
working alongside the team to
ensure the perfect solution.
“The furniture designs were all
bespoke and required specific
tailoring to meet the demands of
the brief. Working with the right
fabricators was key to achieving
a successful end product and the
teams at Woodscape and Inspired
Metal were integral to this process.
Their wealth of experience and
ability to explore innovative design
solutions enabled the team to
progress through from concept
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