Recommended Commercial Outdoor Furniture for Universities and Colleges
Designing a college or university campus is not a simple task. Any given campus handles thousands of students every year. The campus is the center of the student community and many students live almost exclusively between their classes, housing, and the on-campus venues. Students are especially likely to gather and set up base in outdoor spaces, from your commissary outdoor seating to the benches that line the quad.
So in your campus design, what is the best recommended commercial outdoor furniture to install? There are many options ranging from playground equipment furnishings to restaurant suppliers. Your choice will inevitably focus on whichever option best fulfills your campus furnishing priorities. For outdoor furniture, your university or colleges needs tables, benches, and receptacles that
- Enhance the campus appearance
- Provide comfort and function for students
- Are built to last years, even decades, after installation
Fortunately, outdoor furniture technology has come a long way in the last few decades. Baked-on plastisol coating now makes it possible for picnic tables and benches to last for twenty-plus years without rust or deterioration. In your school colors, this could be the ideal investment for your campus’s outdoor furnishings and student experience.
What Universities Need in Outdoor Furniture
Polysteel Durability
Campus furniture (indoors or out) must be durable. You’re expecting use from hundreds to thousands of students every year, and students aren’t easy on furniture. For outdoor tables and benches, expect more than a few antics. Climbing, fort-building, and sleeping are among the more predictable stresses your outdoor tables will endure.
Polysteel provides both the weather resistance and active durability needed to withstand many years on a college campus. Polysteel is steel coated in plastisol polymer and then heat cured to bond with the metal surface. The plastic layer prevents scratches, rusting, impact damage, and tampering with the outdoor furniture while also providing a vibrant long-lasting color.
Social Arrangement Seating
College students are social creatures. They often gather in medium to large groups to study, hang out, work on projects and get into mischief. Social seating is essential for campus furniture design. Seating should accommodate medium-sized groups together and emphasize facing each other with a shared workspace.
Vibrant School Colors
Outdoor furniture takes on the personality of the campus itself. Stone benches look nice in gardened spaces but out in the open, you want to invite students with vibrant colors. The plastic coating can be mixed with any number of vivid and inherent UV-resistant colors. These colors don’t fade over time, fade minimally in the sun, and don’t peel or chip like paint. They are also fully washable and safe in the rain. The plastic coating keeps the steel rust-free and can also be easily hosed down when the tables or benches get dirty.
Stationary Emplacement
Make sure your outdoor furniture is bolted down. Campus furniture rarely stays in place without hardware. Students start by pulling tables together for friends and projects, but this can soon turn into campus-wide furniture rearrangement. However, a simple loop with one or two bolts per leg can ensure that your outdoor tables and benches stay where you intend them to provide seating. As a bonus, emplacement also keeps your furniture from piling against the psych building in the next major storm.
Versatile Sizes and Uses
Every campus is unique and not all your spaces provide the same area for seating. But every shady nook and open expanse could hold a bench with the right design. College outdoor furniture needs to be versatile so that you can provide seating and study areas throughout the entire campus. Benches of various sizes and strategically placed receptacles are the keys to an inviting campus where students can always find a quiet spot for lunch, projects, or a between-class nap.
Recommended Outdoor Furniture for Campus Venues
So what are the best pieces of commercial outdoor furniture for universities and college campuses? Our Polysteel options cover your needs for outdoor tables, multiple-sized benches, and colorful emplaced receptacles.
1. Square 8-Seat Picnic Tables
When it comes to outdoor table seating, you can’t overcome the simplicity of the picnic table design. But we can improve on it. The classic 6-seater picnic table has one downside, in which the opposite corner seated people are too separated. The square picnic table design fixes this and adds space for another two people by evening the sides.
In addition to eight seeds, the Polysteel square picnic table also features an easy walk-through design with foundational legs that loop down below the seating and table surface. This creates an easy flow and less potential for mischief or injuries. A mesh-inspired surface prevents water pooling and allows strong winds to pass through. The polysteel material provides a sturdy frame and long-term external protection from the weather, dents, scratches, and scuffs. With 100% of the table coated, not just the surfaces, even rust is no longer a concern.
2. Multi-Length Benches
Polysteel benches are the versatile every-situation option for outdoor campus furniture. Any space large enough for two students to stand together can sport a bench. Long stretches of hallway or courtyard can become the home to long benches. Fields, sports areas, and classroom halls are often lined with outdoor benches designed to make the space more welcoming for students. Properly arranged, benches in a size spectrum can be arranged to create outdoor amphitheater seating
Polymer coating color doesn’t fade, scratch, or chip away because it’s the same color through and through. Choose your school colors, and decorate your campus with study mesh-inspired benches of any length you need. Short benches or long, distantly spaced or arranged in social seating areas, polysteel will stay put and look great for decades.
3. Emplaced Campus Receptacles
University campuses need many trash and recycling receptacles. Walt Disney found that most people will only reliably walk about 30 feet to throw away trash. So in the parks, you’ll never be more than 30 feet from a trashcan. The same policy applies pretty well on campus, which means a lot of trashcans dispersed throughout the outdoor grounds and spaces.
You need trashcans that are easy to access, easy to maintain, and draw the eye so they’re hard to miss. Vibrant colors and a distinct shape go a long way for keeping your campus clean. Our polysteel receptacle design emplaces anywhere on your campus. You can color-code your trashcans or simply choose the brightest school color to attract students with empty bottles.
Why Polysteel for Campus Outdoor Design
Here at Polysteel, we carefully consider the needs of our clients and how our services can provide a unique value. College and university campuses go through heavy traffic from the student population every year. You need commercial outdoor furniture that is not only extremely durable but also reflects the vibrant attitude of your school culture and student body. Polysteel furniture is steel furnishings designed to be 100% coated in a baked sealant polymer. The plastisol provides a bonded layer of protection and a base for a through-and-through vibrant color.
With no steel exposed, there is no opportunity for rust. This is what allows us to provide a 20-year warranty on our commercial outdoor furniture. We know college campuses are built to last for lifetimes. So your outdoor furniture should last as long as possible. You can bolt down the furniture and hose off the plastic coating without worries, making these high-durability and low-maintenance tables for an efficient widespread campus maintenance plan.
Finally, Polysteel outdoor furniture provides designs that allow you to define the space. Square tables, multi-sized benches, and simple receptacles can be placed wherever your campus best fits their uses.
For more on Polysteel commercial outdoor furniture for your college or university campus, contact us today!