Bollards › Esplanade Setting Use
Unlike the urban market place, pedestrian movement in the Esplanade is characterized by the linear rationale of the promenade. Due to the long linear spaces inherent in this typology, the main flows occur in open carriageways with minimal competing furniture.
Accordingly, when the space is shared with vehicles the parallel directions of traffic and confined vehicle zones result in the requirement for a reduced depth of threshold.
Typical functions of bollards in Esplanade environments include:
- Furniture;
- Control of pedestrians;
- Barriers to low speed traffic ways;
- Protection of existing features such as planting areas or low hazards.
Designer requirements
Because bollards in this environment are in close proximity to people and the depth of thresholds is often minimal, bollards and other street elements require a conceptual relationship that is closer to furniture (rather than being primarily a barrier). Hence there is a requirement for these elements, including their form and finish, to be tactile, approachable and interactive with the pedestrian.
Critical design issues are outlined as follows:
Threshold
As previously stated, the Esplanade threshold is interpreted as minimal and thin. There is scope to use the same bollard to ‘warp’ the threshold where required, allowing for individual site conditions - for example, squeezing and thickening the barrier at points of conflict to focus pedestrian attention and control speed and direction of crossing the barrier into traffic.
Legibility
The tendency for longer runs of bollards along boundaries facilitates the legibility of bollards in this environment, as people infer patterns on the landscape, allowing them to perceive bollards that may actually be obscured from view.
Therefore, the design issue can become one of legibility at a finer scale, with the bollard detailing referencing the particular conditions either side of the permeable barrier.
Please contact OSA with any questions on our esplanade bollard range.