Planter
Planters are containers for holding one or more potted plants . In addition to bollards , benches and waste disposal elements , they are essential equipment elements in public spaces , especially pedestrian areas that separate them from the road with traffic.
Their widespread use is due to the fact that they meet the requirements for the small-scale design of public spaces: They combine aesthetics and ecology ("green city") with the urban planning priority goals of economy , durability , repairability ( vandalism security ) and disposal security .
Form, material, aesthetics
Plant pots are available in a wide variety of shapes. The trough at a 45-degree angle and the circular shape dominate. Hexagonal buckets, beakers or funnels are the alternatives. The options can be easily expanded by combining them with other representatives of the street furniture : closed, open round bench installations, free rectangular combinations with seating furniture, advertising media, disposal bins, such as those offered by the manufacturers in pre-designed forms.
When it comes to the material, one often opts for concrete , preferably a variant of exposed aggregate concrete . Concrete generally harmonizes well with the horizontal and vertical surrounding surfaces, e.g. B. the pedestrian zones (as a main area of application of the planters), provided that it is sealed surfaces or modern building facades .
Concrete is robust and easy to care for. It is weather-independent and frost-resistant in winter. Its heavy weight makes removal and subsequent misuse of the containers largely difficult. Its material strength makes concrete resistant to attacks from humans and nature . In the event of contamination by dogs , pigeons , vandals etc. with unwanted liquid, semi-solid or solid substances, the bucket can be cleaned with a high-pressure cleaner.
Planters are in the entertainment cost. Modern concrete research and development is able to give the material, which some people in the past sometimes rejected as "boring", an almost natural appearance ( pumice , basalt , terracotta style ). Form and content ( tree , shrub , flower ) are no longer foreign to one another, they "communicate" with one another. Sometimes the bucket is coated with natural wood in an all - round application , which, however, increases the maintenance effort and shortens the reworking intervals.
In the meantime, rows of planters are viewed critically by some urban planners . The impression of a fence and demarcation must be avoided in public space. They therefore prefer the solitaire or the small group.
Plant pots organize and structure the public space. They bring a park and garden atmosphere into monotonous areas and enable encounters with nature in the heart of the cities. In contrast to seating furniture (benches, single seats, some bollard shapes), they are hardly suitable for prolonged sitting.
functionality
A drainage system usually provides moisture regulation and good growing conditions. In order to prevent backwater from building up in planters, it is imperative to ensure that the water drains correctly; this is also called drainage among gardeners. With the help of anchor sleeves on the inside, planters can be easily moved, even if they are heavy. The low maintenance costs can sometimes be through sponsorships from local residents further reduce and adjacent shops. The garden , cemetery and forestry offices are then available to advise the godparents in the selection and design of planters . This sponsorship deal with in addition to the financial cost , the maintenance effort in summer weather conditions a once or twice daily watering and in the growing season a monthly weed - sprawl and - Unratbeseitigung requires.
When choosing the plants, in addition to the desired effect, the above-mentioned financing of care also plays a role. Plantings that are renewed several times a year create variety, but are associated with a corresponding effort. In the case of permanent planting, frost-resistant plants must be selected if the flower pots cannot be brought into a heated winter quarters, which is problematic with larger and correspondingly heavy pots.
Use and locations
The main place of use of planters are the public inner-city walking areas. Another popular place is the urban outdoor catering ( beer gardens , street cafes ). Here they are used to green the outdoor cultivation areas. The room division with large planters can contribute positively to the hospitable atmosphere with appropriate design and care. They can also be used as room dividers or as privacy screens, for example. The furnishing of shop portals with vessels of high-quality material (terracotta, tropical bongossi precious wood or their natural replicas) and more elaborate shapes are impressive.
Away from the shopping areas , the round and square shapes can be used as greenery on the street side and in the shape of long plant troughs as flowering road dividers.
However, their use as a means of control in traffic-calmed zones is controversial.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Guide to furnishing elements in the old town of Münster . Office for urban development, urban planning, traffic planning. May 2009 (PDF; 2.4 MB).