BUSSELTON GETS NEW “BLING”
27 May 2015
The City of Busselton gets creative with functional shower sculptures courtesy of Urban FF.
UrbanFF was approached by Landscape Architect, Bruce Thomas, from City of Busselton to assist with the design and fabrication of shower sculptures for the Yallingup Foreshore Park upgrade.
The brief was to design a surfboard shower using a frame design so the sculpture would have a see through light appearance and minimise the use of materials. Being a public shower it also had to be vandal proof and extremely durable.
The main challenge of the design was being able to make the shower as slimline as possible while being able to incorporate all the necessary internal valves and controls.
The showers and the accompanying grate were manufactured using premium grade 316 Stainless steel. The custom designed shower body and fin were both modelled by UrbanFF in 3D CAD first to ensure that the design would be proportional and functional. The shower body was then deconstructed from within the 3D model to allow for accurate laser cutting of parts. The shower rose “shark” fin was CNC machined and manufactured from one solid piece of stainless which was then polished back to a mirror finish.
The 1200mm diameter grate and stainless steel sub-frame was manufactured to comply with Class A load ratings and was certified to AS 3996:2006 for Pedestrian Traffic use. Each individual cut-out and edge was chamfered to ensure that there were no sharp edges that would cause potential injury to bare foot users.
The result is a stunning sculptured feature for the park upgrade that is both functional and creative and will be well utilised by the community for many years to come.