The term ‘urban fabrications’ is an umbrella term for any type of semi permanent fixture
to be installed in an urban setting. This could range from a shelter to stand under,
a waiting area for appointments or the bus service, and even street furniture used to create outdoor
seating areas.
Waiting Shelters
Waiting shelters have been installed across the country to serve various requirements & needs,
but the type of waiting shelter you are most likely to see out in the field will be a bus shelter.
Being one of the few shelters that has received significant investment from local authorities,
their purchase is planned out to serve local communities and the places they wish to visit.
Even if you don’t use the bus service there is a good chance that the place you’re trying to visit
will have a bus shelter installed and ready for use by those who do.
A second type of waiting shelter that is only recently dropping out of mainstream fashion; the smoking shelter.
Once, the hobby that this type of shelter facilitated was much more popular that it is today.
Currently, just 13% of the UK population smoke cigarettes but travel back to the 1970’s
and you’ll find staggering statistics for the number of smokers, with over 70% of men and
45% of women smoking cigarettes on a regular basis. These numbers greatly increased
the passive interest in providing a smoking shelter for your customer and visitors, whether it be at the pub,
the station or even a relaxing social spot in need of some rain cover.
Cycle Shelters
When it comes to cycle shelters, they aren’t the most popular item to install on the streetside
as these shelters are most often purchased by a business to service their customers meaning
they often aren’t open to the general public. On the occasion that the shelter has been purchased
for use by the public, you’ll most often find them outside of shopping centres, public transit stations,
and parks where they provide a solid transport alternative to motorised vehicles by facilitating a safe
and convenient parking solution.
Something that you’re more likely to see on the street side; standalone Sheffield Cycle Stands.
Certainly more of a budget option than a full sized shelter, as the racks alone will do nothing to protect
your seat from a spattering of rain, nor will it assist in keeping your bike rust free. But with the price being
so much more palatable for the same capacity of cycle storage, it’s clear why you’re so much more likely
to see a row of racks than you are a full sized cycle shelter.
Canopies
The urban fabrication of canopies is perhaps even more restricted to private businesses
than cycle shelters are, with the most common location for canopies seemingly being
anywhere but the streetside. Indeed, this type of shelter is most often found on the private
premises of businesses, schools, and very occasionally by public infrastructure projects
such as the entrances and exits of transit stations.
