Auckland Smart Solar Urban Furniture
Smart urban street furniture is being realised worldwide, with several projects providing different services to the city and its inhabitants. Smart bus stops, carports, solar trees, and solar benches are examples of smart urban furniture available today in cities like Dubai, Doha, and Hong Kong.
Some of the opportunities offered by smart urban furniture are self-powered recharging docks for smartphones, information screens, public lighting, free wi-fi, recharging stations for electric vehicles, but also outdoor shelter and temporary heat sources. Auckland “smart city” is still missing the opportunity to implement a New Zealand-based project. The goal of this research is to build a community of innovation around a project of smart solar urban furniture for Auckland and develop a design proposal to be used in applying for external funding. The research involves literature review, workshops with stakeholders and a detailed design developed through an iterative design-based research process.