Smarter Hobart Challenge / Bus Shelter and Integrated Digital Interface Design Commission 2020

Our proposal was shortlisted to go into the next stage that included a presentation to the Council

5 teams out of 120 national and international entries were shortlisted

Role: coauthor with Ronja Scherer, Brendan Dilger and Jose Garcia Cesar / design - documentation - coordination

Company: U R B A N L A B (studio created for the competition)

Client: City of Hobart

Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Year: 2020 - 2021

Doing personal projects is liberating and helps me learn something else and bring new skills and new perspectives to wherever I am working.

Four of us join forces to develop this project in our spare time. We selected this project because we care about the public space in which we live and also working to improve the public transport experience in some way is an opportunity to collaborate with society. 

I have to say that even with the lack of sleep, it was fun, because we are friends and enjoy working together, but also the team was diverse and everyone brought a different perspective. (2 architects, an artist and an engineer). I feel proud of the concept that we came up with and its possibilities.

Design Statment

Tasmania is an island of special people; full of talent, craftsmanship, hope and beauty. We believe it is important to ensure this is reflected in the design.

Our bus shelter is designed to be adaptable to the individual location it is placed. The design incorporates modular and playful elements that encourage the user to appreciate not only the natural beauty of Hobart but also the public transport system. The modules have been designed using simple materials that can be found and assembled locally. Generally, a fabricated structural frame, clad in timber or recycled plastic for seats and touchable areas.

The modular design allows for the addition of optional elements such as solar panels, information screens or charging points. These elements are interchangeable parts of the overall kit that can be used depending on the location, context and necessity. A key feature of our design is an integrated smart light that projects calming warm colours and announces which bus is arriving.

All the technology we need is in our pocket. Digitally, we propose investing in a genuine, fun, informative web app that allows transparency and connectivity. Each bus stop will have a unique QR code that will link directly to the web app.