BKT's approach to designing street furniture for the city

Why Outside, our home?

BKT mobiliario urbano (urban furniture) has been working as a design company for two decades with a single goal in mind: to enhance people’s experience of public spaces through the objects that surround them. The company is based in Guadalajara, Mexico, and is the leading company in the sector. They specialize in designing and developing products for public spaces. 

Their slogan ‘Outside, our home’ is a clear reflection of their purpose, which is to see the city as if it were their home. Consequently, they aim to create spaces that involve and connect society. Currently, BKT mobiliario urbano consists of a talented team that adds their effort, vision, and skills to contribute not only to design and knowledge but also to the development, marketing, and implementation of these ideas materialized in the sidewalks.

images courtesy of BKT | Designing for the city

where did the name BKT street furniture come from?

‘BKT (Onomatopoeia). The sound that refers to the sidewalk — This defines our company since it is the space where we perform, interact, and contribute our talent, that place that connects the private with the public and involves the whole collective without distinctions. Our life revolves around details in the spaces, the temporality, and the frequency to which we are exposed to them. These small areas (the sidewalks) are where this interaction between society, space, and our products takes place,‘ — shares the BKT mobiliario urbano team.

During the early stages of developing cycling infrastructure, a private initiative sparked the creation of BKT mobiliario urbano. The initiative involved sacrificing a parking space to install the CP-001 model (Ciclopuerto 001), which could accommodate six bicycles. This small but significant action helped advance the field of micromobility, highlighting the need to improve and dignify urban spaces in every possible way.

Realizing bkt’s urban vision

BKT mobiliario urbano is a company that aims to complement the urban environment with its products. They are committed to disseminating their research and advances in design and street furniture. As a result, they successfully published their first book, “01: Designing for the City,” which covers a variety of topics related to space and showcases their wide range of products.

In 2022, BKT mobiliario urbano proposed an important project for its work plan: the launch of a second book in 2023 called “Afuera, nuestro hogar” (Outside, Our Home). This publication focuses on mobility and sustainability, highlighting 19 of their best products and featuring conversations with friends who are experts in design and micro-mobility. The first concept is linked to public transport and micro-mobility, infrastructure, and public and private actors that support it. The second concept revolves around the cross-cutting vision of all departments of the company, showcasing present actions and future goals to exemplify the vision of the city that has BKT street furniture. This book aims to inspire other companies and individuals to take action at this key moment.

Afuera, nuestro hogar (Outside, our home)

Solutions from the paper to the streets

BKT mobiliario urbano human talent is made up of a team of designers, engineers, production, marketing, and customer service specialists who facilitate the company’s ability to operate on projects of different scales. Over time, the company has significantly improved its production line with personnel who are increasingly better trained and experienced in the use of the technology needed to cut, bend, join, or assemble with precision, but also in an environmentally friendly way, as the company produces its own electrical energy.

However, an important part of a design-centered company, according to different international organizations, is the fact that the General Management of the company is trained within the field, where the design team is transversal to all the others and always puts the user at the forefront of its decisions (Human Centered). That is why to reach a high-quality product, there is an extensive process of analysis carried out repeatedly not only for the conception of a product but to make sure to keep innovating and improving. 

Design and Process of Cycloport 009 (CP-009)

Over the years, BKT mobiliario urbano has made great progress in increasing the presence of its products throughout Mexico. As a result, the company has been able to work on various projects of different scales and achieve great success. BKT has collaborated with private and public institutions on special projects for public spaces. Some of the most successful collaborative projects BKT has completed include creating kiosks for the Andares Shopping Center in Zapopan and placing furniture in the Andares Market. The company designed signage objects specifically for ITESO and the needs of the site. In the Historic Center of Guadalajara, BKT mobiliario urbano helped to improve spaces for shoe grooming. The company created an installation that simplified the storage and security of boleros’ work tools. Furthermore, BKT’s urban furniture and its Parabús 003 (PA-003) can be found at all public transportation stations in one of the most important urban mobility projects in the City of Guadalajara. These are just a few examples of the significant and impactful projects that BKT mobiliario urbano has successfully completed over the last 16 years.

Bus Stop 003, at Mi Macro Periférico (PA-003)

Seat 009 (AS-009)

Catalog, BKT street furniture

Observing to innovate is a fundamental part of their vision; each piece, each screw, makes up the set of details and fragments that build a city together with its citizens. For BKT urban furniture, the fact that a child can grow up with symbols of greater aesthetic, functional, and quality value is what allows us to collectively imagine a better reality. That is why its product families are oriented to further dignify the space, whether public or private. Thus, BKT mobiliario urbano is constantly exploring proposals and new ways to implement its products. For the company, its current catalog is not only product options but the materialization of solutions to collective needs through design.