DAVID SHAW, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, STREET + GARDEN

Q What are the future-proofing factors at play in your industry that will ensure resilience and longevity?

A Australia has an ever-expanding population that continues to work towards that Australian dream of home ownership, indeed all kinds of housing types. With that comes the need for infrastructure to support that dream, and that includes recreational facilities. So, I believe that both new and older settlements will continue to expand and evolve, requiring the kind of infrastructure items Street + Garden design and supply.

Q What eco-conscious initiatives is your industry considering or implementing to ensure environmental sustainability?

A Street + Garden has always been conscious of and has embraced emerging technologies, designing products that consider the economical use of materials while ensuring sustainability through longevity. From ideas generated off hand drawn sketches and made using handmade metal casting moulds to designs generated on a computer screen and delivered using robotic technology, our company strives to deliver a point of difference and is always aware of the impact of what we design on the living environment, both physically and emotionally.

Q In what direction would you like to see your company move over the next five years?

A Since deciding to see if local design would be acceptable and work in Australia, we have been hoping that it might also work on a world stage. Street + Garden has had some of the products it has designed and developed in Australia manufactured and sold internationally, on a small scale, and are working towards expanding this. If successful, we hope it will be a step in creating greater recognition and credibility for the broader creative sector in Australia.

Q What do you feel is your industry’s biggest contribution to the public space arena over the last decade and what lasting changes has it supported?

A When Street + Garden entered the industry there was very little consideration for what is special about each place; its iconic elements and stories. As such, we saw an opportunity to make the things we design a reflection of each place and community, more than just mere function. Not that function is not important, of course. The right choice of materials to suit each environment is critical to how our ideas will be used and enjoyed. However, the idea that a community could see a reflection of itself in elements that are part of the shape and detail of the things they interact with in community spaces seemed like another way for us to be a part of creating ownership and connection to place.

Q What is unique to your company this is not being widely done by others in your industry, and why is it valuable?

A From its inception, Street + Garden has strived to be at the forefront of creative thinking regarding what street furniture can be; initially understanding that there is a history associated with items such as park benches, for example. The basic format of the time was something that needed to be challenged, in our opinion.

We believed that street furniture could offer much better solutions in the way it is integrated into the landscape and is used as part of a gathering place. And, taking that idea further, we sought to take elements that are unique and special about each place and build them into the shapes and detail of the furnishings we created.

______________________________ 

DAVID SHAW

David Shaw is an award-winning designer of street furniture, receiving his first design award, as a student, for the Elizabeth Street Mall project in Hobart in 1980. David worked as an inhouse designer and educator until he established Street + Garden

Furniture Co, in 1991. Since then, David and his award-winning team have been part of reshaping cities, towns and public spaces throughout Australia and internationally, providing unique design solutions to benefit communities.