Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Whales are an important part of the culture of Norway and were chosen as the design theme for a new seating project in Sarpsborg Square in the centre of the city.

As a tribute to the whales found in the area, the project design required benches shaped as whales. The structure of the bench was made out of a grey metallic material, which took on perfectly the shapes of the cetacean mammal. The seating needed another material, more comfortable for people to sit on but robust enough to stay outside in the year round extremes of Scandinavian weather.

Only the natural beauty and versatility of wood could create the desired effect. The most durable wood possible, Accoya®, was chosen for the seating area due to its high performance especially for outdoor applications. A total of 1280 individual pieces of Accoyawood, supplied by Norwegian Distributor, Profftre, were used to recreate the effect of whalebones on the bench. To bring some colour to the square and attract passers-by, a red coating was applied.

Accoya wood is set to become the material of choice for many outdoor uses and is guaranteed for 50 years for above ground use. Accoyamatches or exceeds the durability, stability and aesthetics of the very best tropical hardwoods. Sustainably sourced and manufactured using a proprietary non-toxic wood modification process it performs very well in demanding conditions.

Additionally, the coating performance of the Accoyawood was a huge factor in the development of the Sarpsborg Square seating project. Built for outdoor purpose, the structure required a wood easy to coat but also Class 1 durability.

‘The impact of the greater stability characteristics of Accoya have been clearly demonstrated in a recent set of severe coating exposure trials in the sense that the coating system used had remained functional and of good appearance over the 42 months of the trial with this substrate, compared to complete loss of functionality and appearance on Scots pine and Siberian larch”, said Justin Peckham, Sales Manager for Scandinavia at Accsys Technologies. To ensure the longevity of the new seating which is also at risk of vandalism, the project was finished with an anti-graffiti coating.

“Durability is key for outdoor construction and Accoya wood was the only wood suitable for this application, said Robert Braaten, Partner and Managing Director Profftre. “We supplied a large amount of Accoya wood in different size pieces to recreate the whalebones and also provide good comfortable seating. This unique and distinctive project stands out on the old and popular square of Sarpsborg.”

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