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The Pipes

The Pipes

2021Public space design

Geologically Inspired Urban Seating Landscapes

With Heat Island

The Pipes uses salvaged and recycled ceramic drainage pipes to create dynamic urban seating and planting.

The pipes serve as self-irrigating, low-maintenance planters for wild flowers and important urban pollinator plants. The installation makes use of the principle of evaporative cooling to also reduce the ambient temperature surrounding the installation during the hot months of the summer.

The Pipes — proposal render for London Festival of Architecture, New Growth
The Pipes — proposal render for London Festival of Architecture, New Growth

The installation serves as both an inviting public space and an investigation of the use and re-use of materials within a circular building economy, using non-toxic, inexpensive, recycled materials designed with the entire life cycle in mind from the outset.

Instead of a single location, the installation is designed to be distributed across different pockets of public space to increase its contribution to urban ecological corridors while being easily identifiable with a bold unified material language.

Salvaged ceramic drainage pipes
Salvaged ceramic drainage pipes
Reclaimed pipes and construction materials
Reclaimed pipes and construction materials

Buds

The ceramic pipes are capped with modular “buds”. A standardised fitting allows for an expansive collection of bud typologies, experiments and housing for different plants and wildlife.

Modular buds, reclaimed ceramic pipes and temporary plinth system
Modular buds, reclaimed ceramic pipes and temporary plinth system

Planting + irrigation

The installation is designed to facilitate self-irrigation and minimal maintenance over the course of the summer. The planting selection follows the Royal Horticultural Society’s Plants for Pollinators scheme, with plant and wild-flower selection intended to be coordinated with community and institutional partners.

Planting palette and self-irrigating pipe system
Planting palette and self-irrigating pipe system

The Pipes

Geologically Inspired Urban Seating Landscapes

Year
2021
Type
Public Space Installation Proposal

Tags

installation,recycled materials,urban design,circular economy,evaporative cooling,planting

Bureau Burman

We work with great organisations to make better spaces, places and tools for the built environment.

Clients & Partners

We work with institutions, local authorities, research organisations, nonprofits, and cultural bodies across the UK and Europe.

Our collaborators span public sector agencies, universities, housing associations, and engineering consultancies — organisations committed to climate action and spatial innovation.

The Pipes

Geologically Inspired Urban Seating Landscapes

Salvaged ceramic pipes become seats, planters and habitats. Designed for public spaces, they combine self-irrigating planting with evaporative cooling.

Year
2021
Type
Public space design
With
Heat Island
Brief
London Festival of Architecture — New Growth