New York City Bus Shelter
Client: CEMUSA – Spain/USA (currently JCDecaux) 2004 to 2007
Designers: Grimshaw Industrial Design by Billings Jackson
JvStedingk capacity: Lead Designer at Billings Jackson for Grimshaw Architects
New York City Art Commission: Award for Excellence in Design 2006
IDSA and Business Week: International Design Excellence Awards 2008, Bronze
This design won the bid for the Coordinated Street Furniture Franchise of New York City, a contract involving a $1.3 billion investment by the Spanish media company Cemusa (since bought by JC Decaux), beating other finalists JC Decaux and Viacom.
3300 bus shelters were installed across the city, as well as 320 newsstands and 30 public toilets, with an additional option for a number of smaller public service structures such as trash cans and internet information points (yet to be implemented). The first shelter was inaugurated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on December 18th 2006, saying they will be ‘a compelling add for New York’. They have now laid their mark on the cistyscape and are visible across the city.
Uncluttered transparency was a main design driver. Shops and features should be visible through the shelter.
Integrated backlit signage avoids clutter and provides enough nighttime lighting. A glass side panel has an edge-illuminated strip for visibility.
Made of modular elements, the shelters can be configured to different sizes
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Newsstands were derived using elements of the shelter. Workshops with the newsstand operators maximised use of space.
