Wolfgang Laubersheimer, one of Germany’s most celebrated avant-garde designers, designed these bus stops. Largely made of steel, this bus stop design is very unconventional. There is a gritty artistic feel to the structures. Connections between members are rather crude than aesthetically pleasing. Steel members are pierced with many holes. This gives for a very industrial feel to the design. Glass panels resting on steel canopies provide for shelter from the elements but at the same time allow for maximal sunlight to penetrate through. Protection from wind is not really addressed. Seating is very nominal allowing for a maximum of three people to sit and most likely very uncomfortably so for adjacent strangers. The wood bench providing this seating hovers on top of the ground connecting to the large drum behind. The most striking thing about the design is the large bus facing concave drums that hover in the middle of the structures. Nicknamed Hannover, Germany’s “whispering station” utilizes these drums like four giant speaker cones. These cones amplify spoken word. These drums reflect noise so efficiently that another person standing up to fifty meters away can easily understand spoken words.
- Jeff Isbister
Ganseforth, Heinrich. Űstra: Design for Local Public Transport Infrastructure in Hannover. http://www.uestra.deengdownloadbusstop_folder_eng.pdf (Date Accessed: March 22, 2006).
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