Pop-up or planned: how the public realm can be a safe events space for any occasion.
After two years of being urged to keep our distance from each other during COVID, people have enjoyed getting back together again over the past year, whether at family get-togethers, gigs and theatre performances, or organised events.
Along with the value of spending time together, the pandemic experience has also taught us the joy of being outdoors, resulting in a permanent shift to more al fresco dining and entertainment spaces, along with pop-up events and social gatherings in the public realm.
The focus on safety has once again shifted from public health to crowd management, and protecting people and assets from threats, vulnerabilities and risk. At Crowdguard, we are working with local authorities, event organisers, hospitality businesses and venues to support them in keeping people safer, while addressing the practical and operational challenges of adapting outdoor locations for different uses at different times.
When is an event space not an event space?
One of the biggest challenges of one-off and pop-up events – even if they are a regular format in the same location each time – is putting in place safety and security measures that are both robust and adaptable. Often events such as pop-up markets and locations such as al fresco dining areas, need to be secured for specific periods only, before being returned to normal public realm access the rest of the time.
Our 3600 service for enhancing the safety and security of public realm locations ensures that we are able to understand the threats, vulnerabilities and risks involved in each event and location on a bespoke basis, and advise on the most appropriate specification of certified HVM or perimeter protection.
For pop-up events, markets, and al fresco dining environments, the requirement is often for protection that can be re-deployed quickly and easily once installed, on an as and when basis, while allowing the space to be returned to normal when not in use. These are event spaces that are not really event spaces; they are public realm areas being used for events. And in that scenario, The Core from Unafor is the ideal solution.
Versatility built-in with The Core
Designed as a flexible and attractive solution for deployment on an as-needed basis, The Core from Unafor is a semi-permanent, IWA-14-1 rated HVM solution suitable for almost all public realm environments. With permanent shallow-mount foundations (starting from 200mm) that require minimal civils works, it provides a robust infrastructure for rapid deployment of the HVM posts and requires no extra rebar.
Paving or surface finishes between 100mm and 150mm deep can be placed around the sockets, enabling the installation to blend effortlessly into its surroundings when the HVM is not in use. And the Unafor Core sockets can be supplied with cover plates, which can be removed for easy and rapid deployment, making the foundations practically invisible when the system is not in use, and allowing ease of maintenance.
Once the foundations are in place, deployment is fast and simple, requiring just a single trained technician to put the HVM posts in place and secure them with Unafor’s innovative click and lock system. The posts can then be dressed with a variety of attractive features, including planters, bollards and street furniture, enabling both protection and segregation for crowd management. This not only keeps people safer and protects from vehicle as a weapon attacks and errant vehicles, but also allows event organisers to build in wayfinding, zones, or ticketed areas etc.
There are even options to customise the HVM protection with branding, information or wayfinding, enabling the same Unafor Core system to be utilised for a variety of events with the chosen barriers dressed differently for each deployment.
Engineered for safety & simplicity
The installation animation demonstrates just how simple and convenient the Unafor Core system is for public realm environments and this, combined with our risk assessment, specification, installation and maintenance expertise, makes it an ideal solution for flexible public realm event spaces.