Blog
Polyurethane Plastic: from Adhesives to Yoga Pants
Learn about polyurethane plastic’s properties, uses, and production. How is polyurethane recycled at the end of the product life cycle?
Downtown Vancouver Bollards
Vancouver is The City of Glass, with a sleek modernist style. We take a walking tour, noting downtown Vancouver bollards, and document how these small posts enhance the city’s West Coast contemporary style while guiding and protecting vehicle, bicycle, and foot traffic.
The History of Universal Design
Universal design seeks to create a better quality of life for everyone, regardless of their abilities, through thoughtful construction of the built environment. See how accessibility helped designers reconsider how we engage with cities.
Industrial and Warehouse Bollards
Warehouses and factories are complex systems that bring people, machinery, and resources together. Bollards of all types can be deployed throughout to help guide movement and provide safety. Check out the variety of roles industrial and warehouse bollards can assume.
The Wheel: A Complex Simple Machine
Wheels are one of the classical six simple machines and we think of them as a primitive invention—yet wheels were invented after agriculture and metallurgy. See why wheels are a surprising feat of human engineering.
Winter Cycling in Montreal
Metal Passivation: Preventing Iron & Steel from Getting Active
Metal corrosion can eat away at parts, causing them to fail. Passivation creates a self-healing chemical seal that uses corrosion to defeat corrosion. Learn about passivation in stainless steel, aluminum, and other metals.
You Use it Daily. But What IS Polyethylene Plastic?
We take a look at the properties and chemistry of polyethylene plastic, the modern material used in everything from cling wrap…to bollards.
What is Sand Casting?
Sand casting is a versatile and economical casting method. Learn how it works.
Hospital Parking Management
Even as cities move away from car-dependency, excellent hospital parking management remains essential for vulnerable patients. Explore the unique requirements of health-care facilities and discussion of hospital parking fees.
What Good is a Bollard that Can’t Stop a Car?
Not all bollards are impact-ready and designed to withstand vehicle crashes. Check out 9 important bollards that provide no crash protection to answer the question: “What good is a bollard that can’t stop a car?”
East vs. West: The Bollards of New York and California
New York vs. California bollards? Differences in culture, geography, climate, and history make for differences in built environment. We analysed our sales figures to find differences in the small choices of east coast vs. west coast.
12 Twitter Accounts for Urban Planners
Finding great accounts to follow on social media takes your feed from a time-wasting hazard to a professional resource. Check out twelve of our favorite Twitter feeds for urban planners and other design professionals.
Looking for a Career? Consider Historic Preservation
Historic preservation is the process of choosing, investigating, and maintaining older sites that capture cultural legacy.
ASTM Low-Speed Crash Test Ratings
In 2014, ASTM introduced low-speed crash ratings for vehicle impact protective devices like bollards, fences, and barriers. Read how low-speed testing differs from high-impact crash testing, and why the standards are needed at all.
Hit by a Car: Surviving a Storefront Crash
In 2008, Mike Wright was hit by a car while leaving a convenience store. During his convalescence he read everything he could to understand pedestrian crashes. He was shocked to learn how common these accidents really are.
Security Upgrades to Fenway Park
Creating a fan-friendly secure perimeter at historic Fenway Park meant paying attention to the details. Cast-iron ornamental bollards are attractive architectural accents that protect fans without blocking pedestrian flow.
How to Install Bollards in Asphalt
Asphalt can soften when exposed to high heat, and there is no way to control its hardness throughout the seasons. Concrete footings can be used to provide a firm foundation for bollard installations into asphalt. Learn more about asphalt properties and bollard installation techniques.
Human Bollard Campaigns
Painted bike lanes can sometimes cause conflict between drivers and cyclists. Read about the “human bollard” campaigns that cycling advocates have been launching to highlight the need for separated spaces and greater awareness.