Experts take seat at urban furniture table

A team from Donghua University led by professor Bao Shidu will produce China’s first standard dictionary and classification for urban public facilities.

The university made the announcement at the 2020 Shanghai International Forum of Urban Furniture at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.

Urban furniture is a term for when people treat a city as a home, and streets their living room. It refers to public facilities such as benches, waiting halls, road lamps and garbage bins.

At the forum, experts shared views on how to make China more beautiful by improving its urban furniture and develop related industry, including design technology, management of construction programs, standards and study of practical cases.

Luo Pengfei, deputy director of the planning and construction bureau of Xiong’an New Area Administration Committee, said they were soliciting designs for public facilities in the area from both professional design organizations and the public.

Zhang Shiyang, chief engineering of the China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Technology Co, shared experiences in designing urban furniture for the riverfront space along the Huangpu River.

“We believe that if the public is satisfied with the designs of public facilities, people will enjoy the city space as their home,” he said.

The forum, the first of its kind, was organized by the Donghua University Environmental Art Design Research Institute. The second forum will be organized by the China Central Academy of Fine Arts City Design School.