Zoological Street Furniture

This thread has been started to allow people to share experiences of, and comment upon the provision of street furniture in zoological gardens. Comments relating to ease of use and zoo specific issues are particularly welcome.

 

I'm wondering the same thing.

 

I apologise that the thread has raised suspicions; the intention was to allow people to share their personal experiences on this topic. I have provided a definition for street furniture below:

‘Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and roads for various purposes, including benches, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, street lighting, traffic lights, traffic signs, bus stops, guard railing, utility boxes, taxi stands, public lavatories, litter bins and pedestrian signs’ (Transport for London, 2010).

 

in animal enclosures or for visitor use?

 

Only in relation to visitor use.

 

Perhaps the oldest pieces of street furniture in a U.K. zoo are the antique wrought iron seats painted green situated in London Zoo, how old they actually are I do not know but if they were buildings they would definitely be listed, there used to be one at Whipsnade also, it may be still there, at the bus stop outside.

 

Are you doing a project or something? As the Americans say "what's it to you?".

 

Just trying to be more positive. And sometimes, it's best to say nothing at all.

 

I think some of the responses here are rather unfair. It's a perfectly reasonable question which we are well placed to answer - after all ZooChat posteriors sit on a zoo benches each and every day
I note that the question comes from Chester, home of some of the zoo world's worst seating.

These monstrosities are ugly and uncomfortable and were, I am told, extraordinarily expensive too.
I agree with TARZAN about the iron seats at London, some of them sag rather comfortingly and they do their job well. On the whole I favour the old school cast or wrought iron for litter bins etc as well as for seats.

Alan

 

Thanks for all the comments thus far. I am undertaking a PhD at the University of Salford, the focus of which is an assessment of the street furniture found within the United Kingdom’s zoological gardens, placing special attention upon accessibility and ease of use. Hopefully ZooChat members will be ideally placed to share their varied experiences relating to this topic.

 

Yes, despite their great age the old wrought iron seats at London are surprisingly comfortable, had many an enjoyable time sitting on them outside the Casson watching the elephants, I wonder how old they actualy are, I recall once reading or was told that they were originaly used by servants to sit on when the zoo was not even open to the public, while the master and the mistress of the house were walking in the zoo and the servants had to wait outside, confirmation from our learned London Zoo scribes?

 

@ michaelrichards - Are you only interested in UK zoos, or zoos worldwide?

 

Seriously?

How do you plan on "assessing" it? What discipline is the PhD under (i.e. design, planning, etc)? Doesn't zoo furniture seem like a rather too specialised topic for a PhD, with rather limited scope and application? Wouldn't it be better to cover a wider number of places, maybe do a "public attraction furniture" incorporating museums and themeparks too? Where do you get funding from?

Is this an April Fools joke?

 

.........and what positive end result will be gained from your assessments?

In short - what bang will result from all the bucks being spent on this?

 

The only funding group, and use, I could think of would be a disability charity, but it certainly seems excessive in these times.

Having said that, it would be a very fun PhD, going round all the zoos and trying out their seats.

 

You are doing a PhD for three days now and are an expert on research and PhDs?

As long as there is someone willing to fund it, and the research is novel, and sustainable for more than three years, then it would pass muster, regardless of how silly it sounds. My brother's PhD was sponsored by Nestlé and involved a study of the 'crunchiness' of Kit Kats!!!

 

Which probably explains why PhDs now have about the same academic value as BAs!