Street furniture is a collective term for objects and equipment installed along streets and roads for various purposes. Benches, traffic barriers, bollards even post boxes all fall under this category. For street furniture to be outstanding, its design and placement has to take into account aesthetics, visual identity, function, pedestrian mobility and road safety.

“I want to make some changes (to the apartment entrance area), but I know it’s a small place.” This is what Chris first commented when he learned about granite street furniture at SAI. Soon after his new discovery, he wanted to find new design solutions for his street planter.

Why is Natural Stone A Suitable Material for Street Planters?

What makes natural stones perfect for his project is that they blends realism and imagination, creating compelling and high-quality street imagery through colours, surface textures, and a classic look that will never go out of style.

1. Natural Beauty

Unlike concrete, natural stones come with naturally occurring mix of colours including, light, dark and earthy tones. Part of their aesthetic appeal also lies in the variety of surface finishes applicable to most stone types, with each surface finish having a different touch and feel. Typical natural stone finishes include:

• Sandblasted: Smooth. Sandblasting removes hard edges and creates a touch-friendly natural feel. Not too smooth nor too rough, it is no surprise this stone finish is selected for use in many applications.
• Flamed: Raw. This finish gives an unparalleled natural feeling, blends especially well with curves and contours.
• Tumbled and unfilled: Bauhaus. Very modern and commonly used in urbanised areas with sharp features.

2.  Less Wait Time

Rest assured knowing stone planters will meet your tightest (but reasonable) construction schedule. Most projects receive their first delivery within 12 weeks. At SAI, we oversee to ensure production is as quick as possible, so you can spend more time perfecting your designs.

3. Top Quality & Value

Obtained from natural sources, our stones go through quality control to ensure you receive top grade stones. While it may sound counter-intuitive, compared to in-situ and precast concrete benches, SAI’s stone benches can also offer significant savings!

4. Simple Procurement

There are only 6 simple stages to getting your natural stone:
1. Confirm colour / material / surface finish
2. Confirm shop drawing
3. First delivery arriving with 10 weeks
4. Setup dowel bars on concert base
5. Sling and ChemSet into position
6. Cleaning, seal, and it is ready for completion

Every block of natural stone is as unique as your design. Stone changes in appearance over time, just like many other natural materials. These changes develop a patina that tells the story of its use, contributing to a large part of the stone’s innate appeal. Natural stone is a representation of hardness and endless formability, making it the perfect choice of material for your next street planter project.