CM+ and Street Furniture Australia (SFA) collaborated on the development of these award winning, smart open air community spaces, developed in association with Georges River Council and the University of New South Wales. Now in place on three sites within the Georges River Local Government Area at Mortdale (town centre), Kogarah (urban streetscape) and Hurstville (park); the ChillOUT hubs are smart open-air community spaces that provide opportunities for social interaction and knowledge exchange, flexible places to work, play or connect.
The sites were selected through a series of workshops and research, identifying users, their needs and desires and their design responds to Council’s challenge to provide flexible open space with a cooler microclimate, as well as infrastructure for community connections whether social or technological.
The ChillOUT Hubs incorporate SFA’s smart furniture technology along with an Internet of Things (IoT) network of sensors developed by UNSW. Solar power technology has also been incorporated at the Mortdale site. The technology implemented feeds into a wireless network connected to Council’s asset management system and captures data such as microclimate information and space usage data.
CM+ provided urban design services including spatial planning, furniture layout and documentation for the project. It is particularly pleasing to see the urban lift these installations have given to their local streetscapes.
The project recently won a Highly Commended Award for Cross Sectoral Collaboration, at the 2019 Smart City Awards by the Committee for Sydney.
Images courtesy of SFA.