“An active and lasting contribution to protecting our climate”

Shading and water storage in urban areas are becoming increasingly important in the wake of climate change. Oliver Runge, Managing Partner of Runge GmbH & Co KG, is also aware of this. In this interview, Oliver Runge explains how the street furniture manufacturer is responding to these needs in times of climate change, which sustainable materials the company uses in the production of its street furniture and thus wants to contribute to CO2 reduction and climate protection, and how cycling can be promoted with suitable parking spaces.

Oliver Runge, your company stands for the use of Accoya wood in public open spaces like almost no other street furniture manufacturer on the market. How can it contribute to reducing heat islands in urban areas?

The key to reducing heat islands in urban areas is to unseal public spaces, add greenery and create sufficient shade. Accoya wood contributes to this in many ways. Its light-colored surface means it heats up less, making it a pleasant material for seating, even on hot days. Accoya is also ideal for green roof terraces due to its low weight. It allows furniture and decking to be lighter than other materials, leaving more scope for additional greenery without exceeding the load-bearing capacity of the roofs.

A particularly important aspect is Accoya’s role as a permanent_{CO2 reservoir}. In principle, every tree, and therefore every type of wood, removes_CO2 from the atmosphere. But in outdoor areas, it depends on how long the wood lasts and how quickly it grows back. Only if the wood regrows and binds_CO2 again faster than it needs to be replaced is a sustainable_{CO2 store} created. While conventionally used woods such as larch only have a limited shelf life and the_CO2 they store does not remain bound in the long term, Accoya can store_CO2 for decades. This not only creates long-lasting solutions in public spaces, but also allows trees growing in the same place to absorb_CO2 from the atmosphere again. In this way, the use of Accoya wood makes an active and lasting contribution to reducing_CO2 and protecting our climate.

How does the use of Accoya wood provide a sustainable and long-term solution to urban climate challenges?

The use of Accoya wood offers a sustainable and long-term solution to urban climate challenges by combining properties that are otherwise only found in tropical woods. Accoya is extremely durable and resistant to weathering. By treating the fast-growing Radiata Pine with natural acetic acid, the wood is said to be able to achieve a lifespan of over 50 years when used without contact with the ground. Our oldest reference projects, which are now over ten years old, impressively confirm this with the impeccable condition of the wood. Within these ten years, the cross-section of Accoya wood used for the project has already grown back and once again absorbed_CO2. This distinguishes Accoya from many other types of wood, especially domestic ones.

Domestic alternatives such as larch or Douglas fir cannot compete with acetylated pine wood (Accoya) in terms of durability. Even under optimal conditions, larch lasts around 15 years before it needs to be replaced. To achieve this lifespan, however, the larch has already needed 80 years to grow. During this time, the wood stores_CO2, but the wood needed to replace it only grows back after another 60 years. This means that although larch buffers_CO2 in the short term, it releases it again faster than it can be bound by regrowth.

Accoya, on the other hand, grows back many times faster than it needs to be replaced. This advantage is so great that even the transportation and treatment of the wood with natural acetic acid cannot dampen the positive_{CO2 balance}. It is not for nothing that Accoya is cradle to cradle gold or platinum certified.

Whether Accoya products actually last over 50 years – as stated by the manufacturer – or perhaps a little less, is ultimately not decisive. The combination of longevity and rapid growth surpasses anything we have seen before. By choosing Accoya wood, cities can actively contribute to improving their_{carbon footprint} while creating long-term, sustainable solutions to their climate challenges.

Another Runge hobbyhorse: their focus on mobility. Among other things, you have a bike rack for cargo bikes in your range. In your opinion, how far along are German cities in dealing with the ever-popular cargo bikes? Is the commitment sufficient?

We focused on mobility and the development of urban infrastructure for cargo bikes early on. While there was hardly any talk about the mobility transition in cities in Germany, we were already active in London and supported the Cycle Superhighways project. Fast long-distance cycle paths have been under construction there since 2010, enabling cyclists to cover longer distances through the city safely and comfortably. Although our contributions mainly consisted of benches and litter garbage cans, we observed the topic at an early stage and recognized the new demands on the infrastructure resulting from the change in mobility towards a pronounced bicycle culture and, in particular, cargo bikes.

From the point of view of street furniture, cargo bikes pose particular challenges, especially when it comes to safe and available parking facilities:

1. Space requirements: at up to 2.80 meters long and 1 meter wide, cargo bikes are significantly larger than conventional bikes. The maneuvering space and the movement of the bike when folding and unfolding the double stand must also be taken into account.
2. Double kickstand: Cargo bikes always have a double kickstand, which is why no leaning solution is required. The main issue is effective anti-theft protection.
3. Cuckoo’s eggs: As parking spaces for cargo bikes can also be used by normal bikes, avoiding such cuckoo’s eggs is a challenge. The availability for their actual cargo bike purpose is then unintentionally reduced.

Our Cargo Parker models have been specially developed to meet these requirements: They use pictograms to clearly signal that they are parking spaces for cargo bikes. The low connection height is designed for cargo bikes, whereas it is rather impractical for conventional bikes. If the classic bicycles are offered sufficient parking facilities of their own within sight, then the cargo spaces can actually be kept free.

Until now, attempts have often been made to designate classic bicycle stands – as they have always been known in the city – for cargo bikes by means of signs or floor markings. Often with moderate success – they continue to be used by the old bikes. Recognizably different parking spaces that are suitable for cargo bikes are the key to success. Another good approach is to convert car parking spaces into parking facilities for several cargo bikes, which also impressively demonstrates how much space a single car takes up. Basically, the better the cycling infrastructure, the more people will use it. In existing areas, the space required for this can only come from the infrastructure for motor vehicle traffic. In new development areas, the space is planned accordingly. Consistent planning that leaves no bottlenecks for comfortable and safe cycling is important.

Even if the redistribution of space in existing areas often leads to controversial discussions, we believe that both we and many cities are already well on the way to actively shaping the change in mobility and giving bikes and cargo bikes the space they deserve in order to create the services that will make the change independent.

As a street furniture manufacturer, what can you do to promote community involvement? In your opinion, what are the opportunities for planners? Can we do more or should we do more?

We are big fans of attractive offers rather than regulation and bans. If we make getting around by bike pleasant, safe and efficient, then use and acceptance will automatically increase. Studies in London already show that at peak times, bicycle traffic now accounts for 70 percent of all road traffic on certain routes. As a manufacturer of street furniture, we want to and can offer well thought-out solutions that support this development. Our experience at home and abroad flows directly into product development, and we are happy to share our suggestions.

The planning community can play a crucial role by continuously emphasizing the importance of good cycling infrastructure, even in smaller projects. Ultimately, the key lies in comprehensive and overarching city-wide master planning. Only through holistic and long-term planning can cities create the consistent framework conditions necessary to inspire enthusiasm for cycling and to promote and integrate it sustainably.

What design approaches does Runge take to develop street furniture that promotes both the comfort of citizens and climate protection?

For well over 100 years, our focus has been on developing street furniture that makes public spaces a pleasant and liveable place. We have always focused primarily on renewable and recyclable raw materials. Our products are characterized by durability and good reparability – aspects that are particularly important to us.

In view of climate change, shading and water storage are also becoming increasingly important in Central and Northern Europe. We are responding to this by developing products that enable greening with large plants – both in standard solutions and in individual project designs. Large raised beds are ideal when space is available but the subsoil does not allow sufficient rooting depth due to pipes. Large planters also offer the opportunity to create mobile greenery on closed surfaces.

It goes without saying that benches should be placed in the shade of large trees. We would also like to see Mediterranean-style seating groups under trees that promote social interaction and invite citizens to linger longer in the cool shade in summer. In times of increasing climatic stress and an ageing population, it is also more important than ever to increase the frequency of seating so that people can take a breather more often. Our leaning seats, such as the Binga Steh, create resting points even where there is not enough space for a conventional bench.

Oliver Runge has been Managing Partner of Runge GmbH & Co KG since 2001. He previously worked as a management consultant at Roland Berger and as an assistant to the management board at Pixelpark AG. He studied international business administration at the European Business School, with stages in Spain, the USA and Namibia. Runge has enjoyed developing new solutions for outdoor public spaces since childhood.

Runge has been building furniture for outdoor public spaces for 116 years. The benches, often complemented by matching litter garbage cans and bicycle stands, can be found in parks and gardens, along streets and paths and in squares; some have now become classics of street furniture. They can be found wherever people want to sit down and linger for a moment. With large planters, Runge helps to make public spaces greener and the urban climate more pleasant. As a “real” manufacturer, Runge adapts products to the wishes of planners or implements free designs as individual special constructions. At its headquarters in the district of Osnabrück, Runge has all production steps at its disposal, from on-site customer consultation, design and construction to wood and metal processing and surface coating.

www.runge-bank.de

This interview is part of the Beat the Heat initiative, which Runge supports. Find out more about Beat the Heat here.