Public Art Bus Shelters

Nashville Civic Design Center Case Study: Public Art Bus Shelters Cities Researched: 1)

Lexington, KY

2)

Houston, TX

3)

Athens, GA

4)

Indianapolis, IN

5)

Portland, OR

6)

Phoenix, AZ

7)

Seattle, WA

8)

Mesa, AZ

9)

Santa Monica, CA

10)

New Orleans, LA

11)

Asheville, NC

12)

San Francisco, CA

13)

New York, NY

Lexington, KY website: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/message-in-a-bottle.php Yvette Hurt of Art in Motion in Lexington, Kentucky, notes that a Federal study concluded that more people used public transit systems that incorporated art. So they held a competition to design an arty bus shelter, which was won by Aaron Scales of McKay Snyder Architects, a local firm.

It is made of bottles of a local favourite beer ginger ale called Ale 8 One, donated by the brewery. “I'm from Kentucky, and Ale 8 One is something I've kind of grown up with,” said Scales, an architectural intern at McKay Snyder, who was a senior at the University of Kentucky when the shelter design was done.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

1

I immediately got all excited that it might be like the Heineken WOBO (see TreeHugger or Inhabitat) or put together like a bottle building, but alas, they are just attached to each other with silicone and sandwiched between tempered glass.

Jennifer Hewlett of the Herald-Leader writes that "The glass and metal structure will be 6½ feet by 18 feet long and contain seats of various heights for LexTran riders. LexTran will put in the concrete base for the shelter, and will be responsible for the structure's upkeep.

Bottlestop will be environmentally friendly, not only because it will give new life to a lot of old, green Ale 8 One bottles as well as some clear glass bottles originally made for NuGrape soda, but because of its lighting system, those involved in the project said. At night, the shelter will be lit by solar-powered lights."

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

2

Houston, TX website: http://historicheights.com/busshelter.htm

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

3

In the spring of 2005 the Houston Heights Association took the initiative to engage the community in a public art program. The community responded and became enthusiastically involved . One particular element of interest was the development of bus shelters reflect ing the character of the Houston Heights. A local resident and UH design professor , Cheryl Beckett engaged her U of H graphic communications class to design bus shelters to represent the special qualities found in the Heights community. The outcome was incredible.

Cheryl's students consulted with historian Dean Swanson as the first step in developing the bus shelter concepts. METRO’ s staff was gracious in providing their feedback to the students concerning necessary elements of public bus shelter design . The ultimate goal was to see these student-designed shelters installed in the community.

Cheryl's class presented six very unique design concepts for bus shelters . Each celebrate s a characteristic of the Houston Heights and its history. The Houston Heights Association then requested that the community select its preferred designs with the objective of work ing with METRO to produce and install these shelters along METRO bus routes in the Heights area. Nearly 400 community members voted for their favorite bus shelter design. Below are pictures of the student’s design s , brief descriptions and the number of votes received from the Heights community for each concept.

Currently Gus Kopriva, ex member of the Houston Heights Association, with the backing of the Association is taking the lead in working with METRO in finding ways to implement these unique bus shelters. (If interested in contacting Gus or getting involved with this program you may send an email to HistoricHeights.com)

*Heights (an elevated) Foundation - Not known to many people is that the Heights was name because its topography makes the Heights the most elevated area in Houston. As the Heights was being planned in the late 1800s "The elevation was an attractive aspect for this planned community. Not only did it offer higher ground away from the city and safety from flood prone areas, it was a place for inhabitants to kick back, drink tea on their porch, and catch cool breeze during Houston's hot and humid summer days."

The Foundation bus shelter represents the topographic characteristics of the area and it is design to invite visitors to learn about the uniqueness of the Heights topography.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

4

*Sidewalk Art - The eclectic aspect of the Houston Heights offers a community with a very active appreciation for art and commercial activity. In the words of the students"The Houston Heights is renowned for its artist community ...a meeting ground where artists can live and work surrounded by nostalgic landmarks of Houston's past along with a mix of arts and crafts displaying eclectic and modernist expressions."

This Sidewalk Art bus shelter was envision to be located along North Main Street where commercial activity is married to the Heights art community. It is designed as a venue to display the work of local artists.

*Trees of the Heights - The Houston Heights is celebrated for its boulevard covered by a canopy of trees. The Heights Blvd. with its wide esplanade and vegetation, along with our local parks, is an attraction to our residents and visitors.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

5

It is the interest of our residents in preserving trees and the various types of trees in the area that got the attention of the student. They also discovered a tree registry that lists a list of large trees native to Harris County and where these are located - 25 of them are located in the Heights.

This particular bus shelter was inspired by the trees of the Heights.

*The Bungalow Revisited - As many of the bungalows in the Heights are being demolished, this bus shelter design reminds us about the founder's dream "to build a new type of town or planned community where successful entrepreneurs and working people could live and work together as neighbors." The bungalows offered the opportunity for many working families to be part of our historically mixed community.

The students' representation of the bungalow bus shelter borrows the architectural elements of he historic bungalows "in reference to the Arts and Crafts movement."

*A Common Rail - As the Heights was being developed it was necessary to provide its residents appropriate transportation to and from Houston. With the advent of electrification the horses gave way to electric trolleys. The students based their design concept on the historic trolleys that linked Houston to the Heights "to preserve and honor the past, while taking advantage of the new."

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

6

As identified by the students "Today the people of the Heights use buses and cars to carry them into Houston and back into their quaint bungalow-styled homes." Like in its early beginnings these bus shelters are to enhance the character of our residents that commute to and from Houston via METRO.

Victorian Porches - One of the unique elements of the historic Heights is its Victorian homes with ample porches where families, friends and neighbors gather. In preserving this historic element of the Heights the students developed a unique bus shelter that resembles the Height's Victorian porches where swinging benches offer a moment of rest and conversation.

"When the homebuilders of today eliminated the large covered front porch, they did more than save money; they destroyed a sacred tradition that has always been a part of Americana." Quote from the students' presentation brochure on the bus shelter.

Athens, GA website: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/082808/new_323767641.shtml As the Athens-Clarke commissioners prepare to vote whether to build more eclectic bus shelters, artists and county officials are debating whether taxpayers should support art that highlights Athens' uniqueness.

The commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday whether to add eight of the costly artist-designed shelters to the four it approved in 2005.

The original four shelters nearly were derailed in 2005 because some residents and commissioners complained they were more expensive than ordinary shelters and a waste of tax money, but the Athens Area Arts Council defused the controversy by raising private donations to make up the difference and plans to hold more fundraisers over the next year.

"Although it was a contentious and close vote, it's proven to be very attractive and popular," Commissioner Carl Jordan said.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

7

The artist-designed shelters cost the county $9,160 apiece, the same price as a traditional shelter.

They've been a hit since the first four were installed last year, Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie said.

"They were received very well," McDuffie said. "Probably 95 percent of the public who I spoke to liked them.

About 5 percent didn't, but that's art in general."

Commissioners balked at one aspect of the proposal - requiring artists to sign over some of their rights - at a meeting last Thursday, but said they support adding more artist-designed shelters, and more public art in general.

"I'm very much in favor of public art," Athens-Clarke Mayor Heidi Davison said. "I think it has great value to the community on a wide variety of levels."

Arts council President Laura Nehf suggested that the county set aside 1 percent to 2 percent of future construction budgets for art at public buildings and parks, something hundreds of other cities already do.

Arts and culture are big business, pumping $166 billion a year into the U.S. economy and creating 5.7 million jobs, according to Americans for the Arts. And those figures only count nonprofits, not for-profit galleries or museums. One of the arts council's goals is to commission a study that measures the economic impact of cultural tourism in Athens.

"Our story has not been told in a way that business leaders can appreciate it," Nehf said.

Athens' two major public arts campaigns - the bus shelters and the Athens-Oconee Junior Woman's Club's bulldog statues - also show off the city's identity as a place that values art, public transportation and University of Georgia football, she said.

But the controversy three years ago over spending even a few thousand extra dollars on artistic bus shelters indicates that not everyone in Athens is ready for a taxpayer commitment to the arts.

Even Davison, a staunch supporter of the arts, said she would prefer other funding options, although she is not completely opposed to taxpayer-funded art.

The bulldog statues could provide another model for future public art projects. While they might not be high concept, they cost taxpayers nothing.

They're so popular that two of the 40 statues, located near Chastain and Associates and the University of Georgia Alumni Association, are worn out and being replaced at the woman's club's expense, past president Julie Walters said.

"They were loved on the most," she said.

Visitors love the statues, especially parents of UGA students, Walters said. Children often scamper over them and sit on them to pose for pictures.

The club has raised more than $100,000 selling bulldog-related merchandise - a coffee table book is due out this fall - and is using those funds to repair or replace the 5-year-old statues as needed, she said.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

8

The club owns the statues and is responsible for maintaining them, according to 2003 and 2006 agreements allowing the club to place some of the statues on public property.

Club members have not decided whether to seek to renew the agreement for another three years or add another round of bulldogs to city and campus streets, Walters said.

Davison said she is considering appointing a public arts task force to tackle such issues as what kind of art Athens residents want, how to pay for it and where to place it - often thorny topics.

Commissioners haven't decided where to place the new bus shelters, but Nehf said she would like to see them either downtown or near the Broad Street-Alps Road intersection where the existing ones are located.

If commissioners approve the new shelters Tuesday, the arts council will seek out possible designs later this year and the shelters will be built next year, Nehf said.

Indianapolis, IN website: http://www.publicartindianapolis.org/project_detail.aspx?id=28&active=1 The project includes thousands of rose petals attached to the glass interior walls of the shelters using watersoluble glue. At sunrise – the beginning of many riders’ morning commutes – the sweet smell of the roses will fill the shelters. The petals will last for approximately two days, and new petals will be attached afterward. The project is scheduled to conclude on October 7th, 2007, following the conclusion of Circle City Classic weekend.

The project is an outgrowth of last year’s successful public art collaboration between Public Art Indianapolis, managed by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and IndyGo which featured written poetry on the buses as well as live performances featuring spoken word artists and poets. “Whether it’s inside the bus, on a shelter, or a Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

9

building, we believe art enhances these publicly shared environments,” said Greg Charleston, president of the Arts Council of Indianapolis. “The city of Indianapolis is fortunate that IndyGo shares that vision and embraces art by providing local artists with unique canvases and settings.”

“Our bus shelters are the perfect backdrop for this exciting project,” said Gilbert Holmes, IndyGo president and CEO. “Anyone waiting in the shelter or passing by will witness the merging of art and public transportation on city streets, a remarkable sight for all of us.”

Barcio graduated from Herron School of Art and Design in 2007 before attending Pont Aven School Of Contemporary Art in Brittany, France. “My mission as an installation artist is to offer an aesthetic experience in public spaces that are overlooked on a day-to-day basis,” said Barcio.

Public Art Indianapolis is managed by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and funded in part by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission. The project’s budget is approximately $3,700, and will be funded through the support of the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission. The commission’s funding is made possible solely through a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Portland, OR website: http://trimet.org/publicart/busshelters.htm TriMet now reuses graffiti-laden glass bus shelter panels by sandblasting them into artwork that enhances communities, saves money and reduces waste.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

10

Each year, about 750 panels are severely scratched by vandals. Replacement panels would cost TriMet about $200 each.

Instead, the vandalized glass is removed, sandblasted with an artist-designed motif and then reinstalled where needed. Etching the glass by sandblasting removes the scratches and costs under $20. This saves TriMet at least $100,000 a year.

"This is an innovative solution to an expensive problem that underscores our commitment to keeping our amenities attractive," says TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen. "TriMet saves money and reduces waste by recycling the glass, and at the same time the community gains a piece of artwork."

A leaf pattern designed by Seattle artist Carolyn Law is currently being used in many TriMet bus shelter panels.

The agency plans to request proposals from artists for future designs.

Phoenix, AZ website: http://www.harriesheder.com/baseline.htm Location:

Baseline Road, Phoenix AZ, Completed Summer 2005

Client:

City of Phoenix, Office of Art and Culture

Size:

13 locations along 4 mile section of road, each location 120 x 30 ft.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

11

Materials:

steel, fiberglass, concrete with steel inserts, seats, wind chimes, flowering vines

Budget:

$286,000 artist made, $1,100.000 artist designed contractor made elements

Landscape Architect: Christy TenEyck,TenEyck LA Phoenix This project is the first phase of the Multi-Use Trail System in a part of the city that is rapidly being transformed from an agricultural area of citrus groves and flower farms into residential communities. The project provides substantial areas of shade in Arbors and Bus Shelters at all the major corners along Baseline Road.

Arbor and Bus Shelter with Bougainvillea Growin

The forms of the Arbors and Shelters are derived from the Greenhouses that were a major part of the Japanese flower farms.

The artists’ part of the project was joined to the much larger undertaking of the reconstruction of 4 miles of Baseline Road, a major arterial. In this process we worked as a design team with the engineers for the Street Transportation Department, supported by TenEyck Landscape Architects. Besides the corners and the Arbor Shelters we generated a concept for the whole 4 miles of landscaping in the wide right of way along the road: the trees are arranged in a bold diagonal grid on both sides of the road and the ground cover is planted in large, bold blocks of color.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

12

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

13

The fiberglass roof panels of the shelters are translucent in 4 bright colors and contain inserts depicting fruit, flowers and leaves.

The benches are extra strong custom fabricated steel with logos of the South Mountain Community and cast tractor seats. Steel inserts appear to be plowing and raking the walkways. Specially designed light fixtures reflect solar powered LED lighting into the roof panels to create an indirect glow.

website: http://southmountainstudios.com/sculpture/public-art-projects.htm

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

14

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

15

Seattle, WA website: http://almostoneaday.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html Seattle has a rich diversity of public art. One such collection graces Metro Transit bus shelters. Seen above is one of several trolley cars adorning the bus shelter on Alaska Street at California Avenue in West Seattle. The inspiration for this trolley motif was the original trolley line that served much of Seattle before rails were replaced with rubber wheeled vehicles in the 1940's.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

16

website: http://www.alrdesign.com/blog/labels/travel.html

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

17

Mesa, AZ website: http://mesaaz.gov/residents/publicart/busshelters.aspx In collaboration with Transportation , the public art program hired Mary Lucking of Tucson, AZ to design a new bus passenger shelter prototype that would be smaller and less expensive than the standard Mesa shelter. This resulted in two prototype designs that feature seating for two, handicap accessibility, shade structure, trash receptacle, bike loop and solar lighting. It is the intention of the Transportation to mass-produce these designs through a local fabricator and place them throughout the city.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

18

The intent of this sculpture/shelter is to create a monumental steel sculptural form of both grace and earthiness. In contrast the "ceiling of people in the sky looking up (or down) at you while you look up is meant to be whimsical, mystical and human in its depictions of ordinary people.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

19

Santa Monica, CA website: http://www.publicartinla.com/sculptures/sm_promenade/bus_shelter.html Robin Brailsford with Amphion Environmental. Santa Monica 3rd St. Promenade. Part of the Downtown Transit Mall project.

The following information was provided by the artist: "Twelve stainless steel and custom glass bus shelters grace the eleven-block site. In form they suggest the reach of street trees and the early shopping arcades of Paris. The shelters signal arrival and suggests a sense of place.

The streetlights, Brailsford found in Barcelona, and were used here for the first time the USA. The team together designed the argyle moss green sidewalks, and all the landscape and urban micro-architecture elements. They placed comfortable, sophisticated park benches in conversational groupings throughout the project site. As seen in the detail, the canopies are roofed with glazed in misty blue or green, custom wired glass, and fused with sheets of thin, reflective copper."

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

20

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

21

New Orleans, LA website: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/photo_gallery_for_transit_stor.html Despite their location on the neutral ground of world-famous Canal Street, 14 streetcar shelters haven't offered much to boast about.

That began to change Monday with the launch of "Artification, " a Downtown Development District project that is dressing up the Regional Transit Authority shelters with vinyl reproductions of original works by 14 Louisiana artists. The pieces were selected from among submissions from 127 artists eager for public-art notoriety.

The winners were selected by five judges who evaluated the entries without being told who created each piece. A brightly colored abstract design by Morgana King was the first to make an appearance, attached to a shelter across from Harrah's Casino.

All of the shelters are located between the Mississippi River and Claiborne Avenue.

One by one until Nov. 1, the shelters will be turned into showcases for works created by other winners from the competition: artists Amzie Adams, Sandra Bolen, Ann Boudreau, Caitlin Clifford, Alan Gerson, Greg Giegucz, Robert Guthrie, Carol Hallock, Olivia Hill, Miranda Lake, Shawne Major, Keith Perelli and Gwendolyn Siniard.

The transit shelter art will remain in place for up to three years, according to Valerie Robinson, director of marketing and special projects for the development district.

DDD President and Chief Executive Officer Kurt Weigle said the project will provide "a unique public art component" during the Prospect.1 international art exhibition, a citywide show to be staged in New Orleans between Nov. 1 and Jan. 18. "Artification" is a joint effort of the DDD and the Regional Transit Authority.

Robinson said that with the transit agency's cooperation, the DDD has been repairing the shelters to prepare them for application of the artwork. Meanwhile, DDD has borne the $1,000 cost of getting each of the winning designs printed and installed, and it has paid $2,500 to each of the 14 artists, she said.

The Arts Council of New Orleans helped buy computer software that was used to get the word out to artists about the competition, Robinson said.

The judges were RTA Commissioner Ron Austin and the transit agency's chief legal counsel, Marsha Hopper; DDD Commissioner Barbara Motley and the development district's marketing coordinator, Lauren Hotard; and MaryLen Costa, the arts council's executive director.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

22

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

23

Asheville, NC website: http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20081015/asset-based-design “‘Asset-based design’ is borrowed from a community-development approach practiced by John Kretzmann and John McKnight. It offers an alternative to the traditional needs-based approach, which can disable clients by overlooking the capacities of local leadership, ignoring root problems caused or complicated by systemic injustices, and insisting that clients position themselves as ‘needy’ in order to receive services. In contrast, an asset-based approach works with communities to identify their skills and capacities, and invites them to play an active role in the renewal of their environment.

“This approach says that all communities have assets. The needs-based provision of services really only addresses the symptoms of the issues without doing any deeper social analysis to uncover the root problems.

If joblessness is linked to a lack of educational activities, well, then that is the root issue. We’re not saying designers can come in and fix all of those problems; we are saying that designers themselves have a particular asset to contribute, which is their professional expertise at creating beautiful spaces and using design to involve the community in discovering and expressing who they are.

“For example, in the Asheville neighborhood of Shiloh, where we worked, residents spoke again and again about the importance of youth to their community life. They expressed great concern about the health and well-being of their children and grandchildren as they grew up in an increasingly complex world, situated in a neighborhood where drug use and dropping out of school are all too common. Instead of looking just at that, we focused on the community’s well-articulated love of their children as central to building a better future.

Focusing on this asset, we invited the youth to participate in the design of a bus shelter by creating materials that were incorporated into the final product. The bus shelter literally bears the imprint of Shiloh’s children.”

How to practice design that builds on a community’s strengths and priorities: 1. Identify your community partner. Target a specific organization to partner with, whether it’s a design center, a development corporation, a block association, or a nonprofit. By honoring the community building that has already taken place, you will also attract less suspicion as a new face. Begin a dialogue to find a design project.

2. Immerse yourself in the life of the community. Spend time or consider living there. Find out where people like to eat and hang out, what kind of meetings they go to, and what places have a lot of energy—perhaps an arts or a recreation center. Find out what the kids are excited about. Connect with community leaders. Go door-to-door if necessary.

3. Conduct a social analysis. Who has power? What are the challenges facing the community? What are its demographics? What are its core values? Who makes the decisions, and who benefits from or bears the costs of them? It helps to understand how the neighborhood came into being, its history, and the larger town or region in which it is situated. Map existing assets and discover the skills people have.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

24

4. Identify their priorities. Reflect back to them what you are hearing. Although often focused on one particular issue (say, youth programs), the community may be in the process of discovering other priorities (better housing, perhaps). Ask questions and listen to the themes that recur. These themes should match and inform the design project you have chosen. If not, consider changing the project.

5. Enter the design phase.Add color, texture, form, and style to the information you have gleaned. Make room for the community at your drafting table. This is the fruition of the relationship that you’ve devel­-oped. Use design workshops, site-reconnaissance visits, scavenger hunts for materials, public-art field trips, and other creative ideas to involve the community in the design process.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

25

San Francisco, CA website: http://www.greensage.com/ezine/08zines/05May08/ezine05-08450Architects.html Even when Richard Parker is working hard, he makes it look fun. As an architect, he designs buildings for a living. However, the way he fully engages his clients in the creation process is practically irresistible. The way his firm, 450 Architects, advocates for sustainable building codes on a state and local levels is extremely commendable.

450 Architects, founded by Parker and business partner David Bushnell in 1995, works exclusively on sustainable projects. Over the past 12 years, they have built award-winning retail spaces, public schools and private homes. Due to the lack of sustainable building codes, 450 Architects have become active advocates supporting the implementation of green building codes on both the local and state level. In 2003, they initiated standardization of residential solar panel installation guidelines in San Francisco. The guidelines are established now, essentially saving homeowners upwards of $2,000 on typical solar panel building permits.

At the 2007 West Coast Green Tradeshow in San Francisco, Parker presented 450's latest advocacy project: Green Roofs. Parker's prototype of the MUNI living roof was displayed on the back of his pick up truck, inspiring a crowd to begin chanting: "We want green roofs!" Similar to 450 Architects' work with solar panel installation, this project is based on establishing standardized building guidelines for green or 'living' roofs. Living roofs not only provide wildlife habitat and beautiful plantings, they also help reduce greenhouse gases and pollution. Parker is working with the San Francisco Parks Trust on a city-wide project installing living roofs on all MUNI bus shelters. The first green roof bus shelter is in front of the SF Main Library.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

26

450 Architects has a strong track record as a pioneer firm in the sustainable building industry. In 1998, they designed the first public school in San Francisco with building-integrated solar panels. The unique and brilliant design of the combined solar panels and skylights developed for Argonne Child Development Center put 450 Architects on the map. Solar panels were integrated into skylights, flooding interior spaces with natural light as well as providing power to the school. Incorporating education into their design work is also key to both Bushnell and Parker. In the main hallway, children can see the solar energy working, experiencing at an early age that the sun provides energy.

Phyllis Matsuno, Principal at Sherman Elementary School, was impressed with the way Parker diplomatically worked with the entire community in a school modernization project. 450 Architects effectively transformed the largest schoolyard at Sherman Elementary from toxic, cracked asphalt to an island of green, rolling hills.

They brought nature into the city school yard with a small stream, waterfall, fish, boulders for sunning, and edible gardens — essentially creating a living classroom and transforming the education curriculum at Sherman Elementary. One of their current projects, designed by Bushnell, is the San Francisco Waldorf High School, a high-performance school facility with state-of-the-art science, art and teaching classrooms in West Portal. The school will be the first LEED Gold certified high school in San Francisco.

Ultimately, 450 Architects make it easier for others to build and develop green. They volunteer as sustainable advocates and work with legislators and building officials to adapt sustainable building codes for those who follow. In Sausalito, California, Bushnell designed a sustainable home with a 6,000-gallon rainwater harvesting cistern, the first of it's kind in Marin county. In standard 450 Architect style, other home owners can now follow and take advantage of 450's pioneering advocacy and architecture.

Check out the MUNI Green Roof Bus Shelter Pilot Program at http://www.sfpt.org. The Green Roof Bus Shelter Group is a collaborative of architects and green roof enthusiasts who propose to install a living green roof on the top of a bus shelter in San Francisco for a three month pilot program. Their mission is to educate the public about the many environmental benefits of green roofs, as well as improve urban air quality and provide attractive waiting spaces for public transit users. The group will be tracking public comments through MTA’s website.

About 450 Architects: 450 Architects is dedicated to Advocacy, Education, Design and Sustainability. These powerful words guide the approach taken by 450 Architects, Inc., an award-winning architectural design studio and consulting practice committed to community-based, environmentally conscious design that is beautiful and soulful. Based in San Francisco, 450 Architects also engage in a broad range of civic, business, and community endeavors.Visit 450architects.com

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

27

New York, NY website: http://www.evemosher.com/gallery2/v/public/shelter/busshelter_runoff.jpg.html A visual tool which provides evidence of the run off (and inherent combined sewer overflow) problems from which New York suffers during rainfall. For the project I will select a few of the new CEMUSA bus shelters in various locations around NYC. We will map the surrounding area in two ways with regards to runoff: 1) the existing structures - surface types and land usage 2)existing structures with run off remediation opportunities. I will then create 2 sculptural maps for per bus shelter. One of the maps will represent the existing system with relative usage of the various surface types (brick, concrete, rooftops, percentage of paved space, and any existing green space) the second map will include the remediation possibilities (including porous pavements, addition of street trees, gardens, green playgrounds and roof gardens). Each of these maps will be placed atop the relevant bus shelter. When it rains, the amount of rainwater which comes off of each map will be visible down the back of the shelter (the glass roofs slope). There will be additional information presented as an adhesive "infomercial" on the backside of the bus shelter.

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

28

Nashville Civic Design Center • Urban Design / Policy Brief • Public Art - Bus Shelters • www.civicdesigncenter.org

29