Transforming the Bus Stop Experience Through Art

By Walter Geiger, Walt Geiger Studios

Landscape art is gaining momentum; this bus stop sculpture was created specifically as shelter for bus patrons.
Photo: Martinot Photo

When it comes to enhancing the visual and functional appeal of outdoor spaces, many architects, artists and designers are seeing the value of incorporating custom art installations.

In Orlando, Fla., Walter Geiger recently collaborated with Entech Creative Industries and LYNX (Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority) to create a series of ?EUR??,,????'??art shelters?EUR??,,????'?? designed to transform four bus stops along the city?EUR??,,????'???s International Drive. These white, curvilinear structures, known collectively as the ?EUR??,,????'??Cascade Series,?EUR??,,????'?? have put art within reach of public transit passengers.

A study in the surrounding environment showed an opportunity to create a ?EUR??,,????'??visual language?EUR??,,????'?? to contrast the landscape, architecture of luxury hotels and convention center located on that section of International Drive.

Now a series of fluid-looking structures complement the natural flora and the rectilinear faces of adjacent buildings. The color white was selected because it works to differentiate the forms in a variety of rural, suburban and urban bus stop locations.

The project began with an intriguing question: Could we re-imagine the traditional form of a shelter, bypassing standard construction techniques in favor of a more expressive, free-flowing shape? In pursuit of an answer, Entech launched an extensive prototype process, resulting in a material ?EUR??,,????'??? the Entech EG 21 Series Formable Composite Panel ?EUR??,,????'??? that is both malleable and strong enough to sustain a Category 3 hurricane. These panels were anchored into a reinforced concrete slab base, to create the structures, which are approximately 15-feet tall and feature a honeycomb interior and fiberglass skin.

In the future, there is significant potential for alliances among architects, artists, engineers and public stakeholders to yield creative, economical solutions like this. Such solutions could further engage patrons in street environments, as well as large urban and suburban park-like settings ?EUR??,,????'??? both meeting practical needs and inspiring the imagination.