Street furniture to protect people in Rotterdam

Various attacks carried out all over Europe have resulted in extra attention to security in city centres. Since the Municipality of Rotterdam intends to provide people in the city with better protection at certain vital spots, it commissioned npk design to create a special range of street furniture to protect people on the pavements against motor vehicles while blending in perfectly with its surroundings.

The designs for this defensive furniture are based on the views and principles held in the general layout plan for public space known as ‘Rotterdamse Stijl’. npk design was involved in laying the foundations for this plan, and we subsequently developed a vision for the street furniture. We converted this vision into a tool kit and a wonderful range of products: sturdy, clear, subdued, yet with a human element. Each element emphasises the city’s no-nonsense mentality: from benches to tree grids, and from clocks to ‘kegelbinkies’ (special bollards).

This defensive furniture is an essential supplement to the ‘Rotterdamse Stijl’ plan. One of the elements that has already been installed is a reinforced barrier erected around terraces. Its defensive quality has been optimised after a number of simulations and tests were carried out. Reinforced bollards, benches, tree tubs and cycle racks that are firmly embedded in the ground also form part of the range of defensive measures adopted to protect the people of Rotterdam on the pavements.