An outdoor space is defined as much by product selection as it is by topography, context and spatial design. Consider the many options for materials underfoot – paving, decking, synthetic turf, gravel – and how they shape the experience of being in the outdoors. Or the choice of chairs and benches people will rest on. This influence of product selection comes to bear in a large-scale public square, just as it does in a tiny courtyard behind a terrace house or at an al fresco cafe. And exploring the products currently available can be the creative spark any designer needs.
Designing outdoor public spaces
When a person walks into a city square or a local park, or gets out of their car at a suburban shopping mall, one of the first things they notice, perhaps even subconsciously, is the surface they’ll be walking on. Are those concrete pavers flat? Can I follow that boardwalk in these shoes? Is the steel mesh on this pedestrian bridge slippery? Do I need to take extra care? So we can see that matching the ground surface material with the intended use of a space is not only vital in terms of functionality, it fundamentally shapes visitors’ perceptions.
Unless an outdoor space is designed specifically for pedestrian movement, selection of outdoor furniture is also very important. Preference for seating style and positioning is highly subjective – some visitors will be happy sitting on street furniture out in the open, while others will reject the sense of public exposure, preferring outdoor bench seating in a more out-of-the-way position or park furniture under a tree. The more seating options are available, the more likely it is that people will congregate and spend time in the space.
The trend for more textural, naturalistic landscape architecture means that many different product options for hard landscaping come into play, such as architectural gabions, hammered-stone wall blocks and retaining walls that express changes in ground level and break up large, open expanses. But of course, nothing makes a landscape feel more natural than trees and plants, and the range of fixed and mobile planters now available means that foliage and flowers can be featured almost anywhere. For trees planted in the ground, tree furniture such as tree guards and tree grates can be specified or custom designed, to ensure that they mature and flourish even in high-traffic environments.
Trees provide shade from the sun and shelter from the rain, of course, but more substantial protection requires a combination of public shelters, awnings and shades. Not long ago, shade structures at local parks were rare, but now, thanks to increased awareness of the dangers of sun exposure, they’re almost standard-issue. Mostly they’re seen suspended above playgrounds that have, likewise, evolved very quickly. Grey metal monkey bars and scorching-hot metal slides have been superseded by all manner of sensory play equipment, cubby houses, musical playground equipment, sand-play areas, water-play areas, climbing walls and play towers. Older kids aren’t left out either, with in-ground trampolines and multi-use games area solutions integrating equipment for basketball, netball, cricket, soccer and more.
Around these hubs of leisure activity, supporting infrastructure is required to maximise amenity and encourage active, outdoor lifestyles. The most popular parks offer electric community barbecues, drinking fountains or bubblers, bottle refill stations, park shelters, wheelie bin enclosures, steel bike racks or other secure bike parking, and lighting in the form of architectural lighting poles or post-top LED luminaires. Oh, and clean, secure restrooms. Less visible, or at least less exciting, are pragmatic fixtures such as bollards, heavy-duty swing gate openers and other transport infrastructure to control vehicle access, turnstiles to control pedestrian access, permeable pavers and slimline drains to manage surface water, and a host of other specialised products that ensure visitors will spend as long as possible in the open air.
In this age of the outdoor room, the level of design detail being applied in backyards and home gardens is increasingly sophisticated. At one end of the spectrum, there are still plenty of lovely hardwood timber decks with a barbecue and some outdoor furniture scattered about. But at the other, we find decorative screens and wire-trellis vertical gardens creating intimate, verdant settings for impossibly comfortable, and hard-wearing, outdoor sofas. There are frameless glass balustrades maximising visual connection with pools and spas, and in homes with particularly keen Nordic design sensibilities, backyard saunas! Even the humble pergola is being re-examined for optimum performance, with construction components such as aluminium decking systems and fire-retardant wood-composite decking, a smart safety consideration for outdoor kitchens.
Sustainability and self-sufficiency are also having a major influence, particularly through the installation of rainwater tanks. But you can banish the image of a rusting corrugated iron cylinder from your mind, because now water tanks can be integrated into the landscape itself – there are pool-surround water tanks, planter box water tanks, front-fence water tanks, retaining wall water tanks and more, saving water and space at the same time.
The list of specialised products that can elevate a home garden or backyard goes on – retaining wall systems, sliding-gate openers, patio screens, modular mailboxes, privacy screens – and on! The starting point is the feeling and the functionality required for the space, and then you just have to find the products to help deliver it.
Great café and restaurant design is about creating a controlled space where a very particular experience can be delivered, and that gets harder when dining areas extend outside. But outdoor dining is so pleasurable, and profitable, that there can be significant rewards in paying attention to the detail in an al fresco dining space. For example, standard cafe barriers work well to define the dining zone and limit unwanted through-traffic, but a much more visually interesting and inviting effect can be achieved with products like aluminium planter screens, hardwood timber screens or perforated metal. Likewise, heavy-based shade umbrellas are a default option for many cafes, but a shading tension system with architectural shade fabric, or full-cassette awnings, will provide consistent sun control and avoid the awkward shuffling of furniture and umbrellas as the sun moves. If portable gas heaters are to come into play in winter, it makes sense to use fire-resistant awning fabric, or even better, avoid naked flames altogether by installing tube radiant heaters.
Indeed, exposure to the elements is a huge factor in product specification for these outdoor areas. Outdoor fixtures need to survive baking heat and chilling rain for as long as possible, to deliver maximum return on investment. Robust materials like woodgrain-finish aluminium or outdoor laminate are sensible choices, and fittings that are lightweight or designed for easy relocation mean they can be protected from sun and rain, and other wear and tear, when not in use.
Great products, straight to your inbox Selector
Join more than 30,000 industry professionals sourcing the best products from leading suppliers.
Thank you!
You may also like other Architecture Media network newsletters: