bus shelter: my 2nd proposal

bus shelter working photos

bus shelter final design models

Robert's model

Maiken's model

Maiken's model

Robert's models

my roof idea

my model

my model

my roof sketch model

A&T Bus Shelter

I have designed a bus shelter for a site on A&T University's campus at St. John's Lodge on E. Market Street. My concept is to integrate the shelter into its environment through the use of forms and materials in the visual language of the surrounding buildings, visual lightness that expresses respect to the surroundings and makes the shelter literally blend in with and reflect its environment, and sandblasted images of the view of downtown Greensboro from the bus stop. The angle of the roof, rectangular forms, and use of white stucco in the benches tie the shelter to its immediate surroundings while the etched images set the shelter in the context of the city and community as a whole.

There is a strong presence of elongated rectangles in the windows of St. John's Lodge building behind the bus shelter site as well as the building to the left of St. John's Lodge. As you look across the street, there is a repetition of these clean, modern, rectangular forms in the buildings there as well. A brick and iron ramp leading to the entrance of St. John's Lodge creates a very dominant angular form directly behind the site. My design echos this angle in its roof line. Elongated rectangles are present in backless benches against the back wall of the shelter, the area for posting information, and the rectangular sandblasted images of the view of downtown through the side wall and the image of tree branch shadows on the roof of the bus stop. The image of the city frames a view and emphasizes the city as whole in the present. In the future it will be a record of the past. The tree branch shadows in the roof provide unexpected beauty in the often unremarkable experience of waiting for a bus. Shadows will be cast onto the benches and sidewalk and will move and appear/disappear throughout the day. The shelter is constructed of a thin white metal frame and glass panels that make up the walls so that it is visually very light and blends with the environment rather than competing with the building and ramp behind it. The ramp is dedicated to P.M. Clarence Garris through a plaque located on one of its brick areas. The largely transparent shelter structure respects the ramp and monument by insuring that they remain visible through the use of glass walls and by moving to the left of the current bus stop location. The shelter is wheelchair accessible providing well covered space between the two benches. The information bar located on the back all of the bus consists of one thin white metal bar that has plexi glass sign/map holders attached to it. If there is no sign in a holder, it virtually disappears. The two benches are in white stucco to create a tie to the stucco in surrounding buildings.

I have created a bus shelter that functions to protect bus riders from the elements as they wait for a bus, becomes part of its surroundings while respecting those surroundings, provides information, and provides a moment of beauty in a situation that can be mundane.

sketch idea 1

sketch idea 2

rectangles in surrounding buildings

*helpful links for this project are at upper right corner

site dimensions

A&T bus shelter site

sketch models for bus shelter

trees + people
from final group model

*pictures of complete group model can be seen on Katrina's blog

sketch model 1

*brick column to blend with Weatherspoon
*poster/map on back side
*bench matching those around Weatherspoon
*glass or plexi top to see trees
*room for wheelchair under shelter at the end of the bench

sketch model 2

*fabric, umbrella like structure
*clusters of various height seat/stools to accommidate children & people of various sizes
*clusters allow more personal space than bench
*open areas left large enough for wheelchairs

sketch model 3

*clusters of boulder-like seats of varying sizes and widths arranged under existing Weatherspoon structure in a way that appears sculptural and does not compete with the Weatherspoon building
*same color stone as structure
*various sizes of seating arranged in clusters allows more people to sit without feeling uncomfortable

bus shelter: design analysis list

MATERIALS + FINISH

painted steel, glass, corrugated plastic, ribbon steel benches, concrete, vinyl logo

This bus stop is very cold, slick, shiny, and hard.

The materials are very industrial character with joints and construction visible.

NATURAL LIGHT + ARTIFICIAL LIGHT

From the exterior, the bus stop appears dark due to the glass tinting. From the interior, it is brighter than I expected with sunlight easily entering without glare. There is no artificial lighting present in the interior but there is a streetlight just to the left that provides lighting at night. The heavy use of glass and non-opaque materials provides an open and connected feel from the interior. From the exterior, the dark tint makes it difficult to see inside as it gets darker in the evenings. I am more reticent to approach a bus stop at night when I cannot see inside clearly. It makes me feel a little unsafe.

HIERARCHY + SYSTEM

The experience of the this bus stop is divided into zones that are physically marked and based on movement and quantity of people.

The street is the most public.

Cars move at the fastest pace carrying the greatest quantity of people. It is marked by asphalt and standard traffic markings.

The area where the bus pulls into when picking up passengers is next. It is also in asphalt but is attached to the side of the road and is specially marked in yellow paint and signage. It is still part of the road but it is designated for this use only. There are fewer people here and the motion is stop and go.

The sidewalk is where the most pedestrian traffic is found. This traffic is slower and the volume is less than the road. It is marked by the material. The concrete strip along the road creates the physical zone.

The bus stop is the next. It accommodates the least people moving at a time. The people using the stop are generally resting more than moving during their stay.

The final zone is the grassy lawn that is roped off. It is intended for no movement of people.

GTA bus trip images

I chose to take the #6 Greensboro Transit Authority bus starting from the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot. This Depot functions as a station for GTA buses as well as the HEAT buses, Greyhound buses, and Amtrak trains. I was immediately struck by the scale and beauty of the station. Having visited other bus and train stations in North Carolina, this station stands out as an exceptionally nice looking building that conveys an importance to the city with its classical architecture and the wide road leading up to the entrance. I also noted the functionality of the station. Having all of these modes of transportation meet at a central point (or node) is very user friendly and efficient. It demonstrates that a lot of thought has gone into public transportation by the City of Greensboro. As a commuting student, I can take Amtrak to J. Douglas Gaylon Depot then take the GTA bus from there to different points in Greensboro or take the HEAT bus to UNCG. As logical and simple as this seems, it is something that is not possible in most parts of North Carolina. I did take the GTA ride before reading William H. Chafe's, "Civility and Civil Rights". After completing the reading, I realize that the Trailways Bus terminal denied Joseph McNeil food service in 1959. This incident was later noted as one of the factors that led up to the Woolworth sit-ins (Civilities and Civil Rights, 1980). My first illustration is of the entrance to J. Douglas Gaylon Depot and my second image is a GTA bus in the terminal.
I rode the bus alone and rode for one route cycle. The bus was full when the route began at the Depot and at the end as it neared the Depot again. It was closer to half full for the middle part of the route after several passengers deboarded at Walmart. Route 6 goes by the Library, the History Museum, and the Department of Social Services as well as several medical facilities, Walmart, and some residential neighborhoods. The route serves the Northeastern part of Greensboro running on Summit Avenue, Textile Drive, Sixteenth Street, and E. Cone Blvd. I noticed that the bus seemed relatively new and was well air conditioned. I did take note of the bus stops along the way. A few of the stops were covered and had benches, but most were just benches and some had no bench or cover at all, only a sign. This is an area were there could be a lot of improvement. The weather was very nice when I rode bus 6 but I know from my previous bus riding experiences that almost any weather is uncomfortable if you have no shelter and no place to sit. Any rain or more extreme weather would be terribly uncomfortable to deal with if you had to wait at most of these stops. I am always amazed at how easy it is to forget how much the weather can affect you when you don't really have to be out in it. Another big factor in riding the bus is time. It requires much more planning and waiting. There are more factors that are out of your control when you travel by bus than when you travel by car. My third and fourth image are of bus stops without shelters.
Several of the the other passengers greeted the bus driver as though they were familiar with her and rode this bus often. I had to be shown how to use my bus pass by the driver. I did not feel unsafe in any way while on the bus or at the station but I did feel uncomfortable taking pictures. I was reluctant to do anything to draw attention to myself. Most people seemed to keep to themselves or the other members of their party despite the physical closeness imposed by the bus. There was a sense of personal space and privacy was generally respected without excluding politeness (as with most modes of public or mass transportation). I have ridden the city buses in Raleigh on a regular basis for the last couple of years. My experiences and habits there certainly informed my expectations and actions on this bus ride. I have found, both in Raleigh and on this bus ride, that the majority of passengers are African American or Hispanic with Caucasians making up a very small minority. Being white, I did feel like I stood out. My fifth picture is a photograph of a carved name on the back of the seat in front of me. It was visually interesting to me with the crown and star details but it also reflects my reluctance to photograph the other people on the bus.
With the exception of a very few large cities in the United States, most of our cities are organised (and our society functions) in ways that assume that everyone has a car. Only recently, with an increased focus on green and sustainable living, has the option of using public transportation become something that is seen as a positive choice. Despite this shift, I feel like the overall perception of public transportation, especially buses, is negative. It is something that you do when you have to for some reason, not by choice. Usually that reason is economic. As happy as I am to have used the bus system in Raleigh over the last few years, I probably would not have done so nearly as often if my boyfriend and I did not share a car. Most likely we would not share the car if we had enough money to afford another one. In my experience, people feel sorry for you when they find out you take the bus. A car is a powerful symbol of personal wealth and Independence in our society. Although I wish it were not the case, it would seem to follow that public transportation users are going to be made up primarily of people who do not have cars; mostly the poor and the elderly. If this is true, the disproportionately large number of African American bus riders that I have observed in Raleigh and on my one bus ride in Greensboro must reflect a larger economic and social issue. As I think about my observations in relation to our reading, it seems clear that economic divisions persist along racial lines and that equality is a continuing battle.