Street furniture

What it covers

Materials and maintenance

The choice of material is the most important decision you make, because it determines the cost across the whole service life, not just at purchase.

• Hot-dip galvanised and powder-coated steel is the most workable standard: strong, repairable, in any RAL colour, and still refurbishable after ten years without replacing everything.
• Hardwood from certified forestry brings warmth and seating comfort, but requires periodic maintenance and greys if you skip it. That is an aesthetic choice, not a defect.
• Composite based on recycled plastic needs virtually no maintenance, does not splinter and suits places with heavy use or vandalism.
• Concrete is virtually indestructible and doubles as screening, but it is heavy and permanently placed.
• Aluminium does not corrode and is light, which simplifies installation on roofs or raised platforms.

We say honestly when a cheaper material will do. A sheltered courtyard needs no vandal-resistant version; at a station or youth centre it is exactly the sensible choice.

Accessibility and use

Public space must work for everyone. A few choices make the difference: a seat height around forty-five centimetres, armrests that support standing up, sufficient clear passage width beside obstacles, and enough contrast between bollards and the road surface for pedestrians with low vision. At schools and care institutions we look at this especially closely, and we tell you when a chosen model proves awkward in practice.

The rhythm of use matters too. A bench at a bus stop is used differently from a bench in a park: shorter stays, more luggage, and the need to see the bus coming. That translates into orientation and placement, not just into the model.

Sustainability and circularity

More and more specifications ask about the environmental performance of the furniture. We can work with recycled plastics, with steel containing a high proportion of recycled material, and with timber from sustainably managed forests. Equally important but less visible: repairability. Furniture where only the seat slats are replaced rather than the whole element lasts for decades. We maintain parts availability and supply afterwards, even years after installation.

Herva-Doublet works with an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified system. In practice that means we monitor our suppliers and processes and provide the accompanying certificates when a specification asks for them.

From plan to installation

We take on the full route: advice on model and material, site survey, layout plan, production or supply, foundation and assembly, and handover with the necessary documentation. Where a contractor is already on site, we align our planning with theirs.

For larger redevelopment projects we are happy to produce a proposal with visualisation, so the authority and the residents see what is coming before the first post goes in the ground. That prevents discussion afterwards.