Outlining the brief..
Here at Draffin we love collaborating with landscape architects on bespoke furniture projects. We have had the privilege to work on some amazing projects over the years. We recently asked ourselves – “Why can’t we offer all of our customers access to the best landscape architects in the business?” Well, we can.
Draffin commissioned Melbourne based firm Outlines to develop a unique suite of furniture for our customers. The brief was for a highly versatile range of pieces that can be easily personalised to each customers taste and requirements. The furniture had to be durable enough for the harshest open spaces, functional, and suited to visually fit into a variety of environments – and they nailed it!
Based in Melbourne, Outlines have a huge portfolio of landscape architecture and urban design projects, but are also renowned for their product design. They regularly design bespoke furniture for their architectural projects and have developed standard ranges of furniture for many Australian councils. This made them the obvious choice to create this new range of furniture, and the result is amazing!
Outlines director Damon Obst and his team worked closely with Draffin to create a very targeted brief for the range and set about early development of the design. This range not only looks good, it is designed from the outset to be functional, beautiful and durable. Our in house design engineers worked closely with Outlines to add in our considerable experience in design for durability, consistency, affordability and quality.
From Draffin CEO Ian Draffin “While we have our own design team, we decided we wanted to collaborate with an outside designer to get a fresh and unique take on street furniture design. We see new designs for bespoke furniture every day and have had the privilege of working with hundreds of different landscape architects on projects over the years, but one stood out in our mind for this project – Outlines. Outlines have a long history of designing bespoke furniture for their projects and the results are always amazing. Damon and his team immediately understood what we wanted to achieve with the range and the resulting designs fit the criteria perfectly. Combining Outlines ability to produce beautiful and functional designs with our manufacturing experience has resulted in a fantastic new range.”
Introducing the Fuse suite.
Designed with durability in mind this contemporary suite of street furniture is “urban ready”. The modular design offers thousands of possible material and finish combinations, ensuring Fuse will fit into any existing or new development. All models are “bolt down” mounted, ready for easy installation.
Fuse Standard Models
89019 – Seat with Back
60mm x 30mm Battens in Spotted Gum or Enviroslat are used across the suite, giving a very robust look and feel. Combining this with a concealed cross frame results in an extremely strong seat. The legs and backrest supports are a separate assembly to the batten frame, and can therefore be made of different materials or finished in a different colour. The seat can be optioned with or without armrests. For added durability, the armrests are fully welded.
89031 – Table Setting
The Fuse table setting also employs the same 60mm x 30mm batten profiles and concealed cross frame. Heavy 6mm plate is used for the legs on all Fuse models, with gussets for extra rigidity. The larger 6mm Plate table legs provide a more solid aesthetic appearance to the setting overall. The Fuse table can also facilitate an umbrella, using an optional centrally positioned umbrella flange.
89035 – Bench Seat
As well as a great stand-alone unit, the Fuse bench works well teamed with the Fuse table. Like the seat with back and the table, the bench also uses the same smart concealed cross frame under the battens to provide superior strength without compromising the sleek look. 
Colours and Finishes
Frame materials
Below are just a few examples of the combinations of materials and finishes available to Fuse. As you can see, the possibilities are endless, ensuring this suite of furniture can be styled to suit any urban application.
Batten Materials
If frame material choice was not enough, we now offer six batten materials for use with all our street furniture products. Sustainably sourced spotted gum timber battens, Enviroslat composite wood/plastic battens, anodised aluminium battens that can also be powdercoated in any colour, and three styles of timber-look aluminium battens. Timber battens are generally most favoured for their natural appeal, but the remaining batten choices are maintenance free options.
Street furniture concepts
Draffin Street Furniture extends their standard range of products with this fantastic suite, this time made possible with the help of one of Australia’s top design groups, Outlines. Draffin offer our experience to all designers wanting their concepts brought to life. We specialise in working closely with you to engineer your concept into reality. Contact us today and have a chat with our design team.