By: Martina Celegato
Submitted: 2009-10-23 09:29:39 | Word Count: 549
In recent years the debate on urban décor has become very important, imposing new issues to the attention of city administrators, such as furniture, cleanliness and order in the cities.
The architecture of city spaces, and the consequent problem of equipping them with facilities adequate to the new needs of a changing society, has been created, in fact, in the nineteenth century. The reassertion of collective rituality and the rediscovery of urban space as a place for relationship between individuals occurred slowly over time, through a rigorous process of regeneration of degraded urban areas and the introduction of elements of street furniture capable of restoring the right image of the city. In these sectors a lot of objects are included, from lamps to flower boxes, to benches, in fact in the urban centers there are a lot of different stainless steel accessories that are both decorative and functional, thanks to the characteristics of this material.
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Even in some towns councillors for the street furniture have specially been created, they should fix the city from the aesthetic point of view. Certainly this is not an easy task, yet it is essential for our cities. Most Italian towns are ancient cities, with a beautiful and interesting old town to be safeguarded. Therefore restyling actions are so important, as there are also old and abandoned buildings, but if carefully renovation, they could be new angles to discover and live.
Following this trend, a lot of specialized companies have been created, to meet these needs of artistic street furniture and lightning for parks and cities. These companies are obviously equipped with latest generation machinery and equipment, such as laser cutting, CNC punching, CNC bending, CNC turning plate, orbital welding and other specific processes that can satisfy every kind of requirements giving the customer the finished product. An essential moment of such renovation is road signs both horizontal and vertical, in addition to other objects. Another important intervention is that planned for the maintenance and adjustment of public lighting. Or also the creation of clean and ordered parks, where people can relax and stop to chat without fear of seeing around garbage and litter. And also the creation of well groomed flowerbeds.
If in the nineteenth century there was no specific legislation on such furniture, today we all must deal with regulations. The new rule establishes the requirements, test methods and production methods for example for removable and fixed benches, in whatever shape and materials used to produce them, including those integrated into other pieces of street furniture, like flower box and waste basket. Besides the comfort, they also must meet some strict parameters related to the flow of rainwater and its cleanliness.
Another fundamental issue is that of graffiti. A lot of governments are moving against these writers, who are accused to deface the urban landscape. They risk expensive tickets. In some cases, these graffiti are considered real art, with their colorful designs. However, unfortunately sometimes you can find graffiti also on the walls of historic buildings, with enormous cost for cleaning.
