Examples of wooden ‘decking’ usage in a public space

The Quayside scheme in Waterford City also has decking….

pretty sure that the ‘town square’ and ‘mill pond’ – forming the main entrance to dundrum shopping centre uses timber as a surface … think it was designed by mitchell & associates, like every other public landscape architecture project in ireland.

Wexford quayside has loads of timber decking…Don’t know about multiple levels tho…

There’s wooden decking of a sort along the Grand Canal at Mespil Road, just west of the lock. It is intended to be used as a quay for boats, though lots of people use it as seating.

Not the best picture in the world, but you can just make out the decking at the bottom there in Dundrum. Wonder what the life of the material is with such heavy public use:

Likewise with the Boardwalk in Dublin – it can be slippy on frosty mornings, as it was the other day:

Nice picture – Dublin looks a bit romantic there.

Really wish they’d gone for more elegant planters on the boardwalk – those ones are just so bloody clumsy!

@Graham Hickey wrote:

it can be slippy on frosty mornings, as it was the other day

Agreed. We have decking in the back garden and it’s lethal when wet or frosty. Same goes for the Mespil stretch- I’ve nearly gone arse-over-tit there more than once. I imagine the surface would have to be roughed up a bit for traction.
Having said that, I’ve had slips on the bloody mish mash of stone on Patrick Street in Cork City, the white tiles of Grafton Street, the paving stones of South Great George’s Street in Dublin, Meeting House Square…
Maybe it’s my shoes?
I can understand DCC’s reluctance from an insurance point of view, and a maintenance one too.

perhaps the king of all timber decking _ yokohama ferry terminal by Foreign Office Archtiects

and another

i think whats been used on the boardwalk & at dundrum is a composite timber – basically a mix of reclaimed timber & plastic fibres, ever heard of trex ? they supply a similar product ….

Their site : http://www.trex.com

some rediculously elaborate stuff on their site, but if used in the right way, composites can look ok.

Regular teak, cedar, iroko etc. can be slippy no matter what you do, no way out of it, i can understand the CC not wanting to stand over regular timber, but look in to the composite alternative ….

That ferry terminal timber is stunning in the first image especially macm – beautiful subtle finish.

Agreed about the Boardwalk planters BTH – silly clunky yokes. The fact that we’re even calling them ‘planters’, synonymous with the worst forms of municipal improvements, says it all really…
Their warm timber construction fits in well though.

There’s an extensive area of decking near the subway station in Flushing, NYC.Can’t remember what context it’s set in but I was definitely there a few years ago,seen it feature in an episode of seinfeld too…I’ll go try google an image…. nah, couldn’t find one..anyone else know where I’m talking about?

would have to disagree that it looks ‘exactly like wood’, no substitute for natural timber, but agreed that significant maintenance is required.