Bus shelter goals: Limited shading?
‘‘We thought this was a really meaningful story specific to the region and related to shelter.’’ Michael Dillon, architect
A new bus shelter ridiculed nationwide for including a hole in its roof had a simple design brief; ’’limited shading’’.
The Blenheim bus shelter, later described by council as an ‘‘art installation’’, became the butt of many a joke after it was officially opened last month.
A picture of the giant opening in the roof above the outdoor seating area was seen by more than 200,000 people on Facebook, right across the country.
Most of the 900-plus commenters were less than impressed.
A council spokesman said on Tuesday the shelter had ‘‘elements of an art installation’’, while the architect said the council got what it asked for.
Award-winning architects Jerram Tocker Barron Architects Ltd, in Christchurch, were paid $40,000 for their work on the shelter.
The design brief, obtained through the Official Information Act, stipulated the council ’’wanted a balance between indoor area and outdoor area with limited shading’’.
Architect Michael Dillon said the brief outlined a number of areas that were important to the build.
‘‘It asked for ‘an inviting area for the travelling public and visitors to wait for their transport connections’,’’ he said.
‘‘The ROI [release of information] stated that it was a unique opportunity to create a great facility that was not only a simple low maintenance bus shelter, but was also iconic in its own right whilst remaining aesthetically sympathetic to the adjacent buildings.’’
Final costs came in under budget at $285,000, including $230,000 on construction, $5000 on engineering supervision and $10,000 on undefined elements that arose throughout the project.
Dillon said the site, leased from KiwiRail, gave them the chance to include some of Marlborough’s history in the final design.
‘‘The Rangita¯ne tradition of perpetual sunshine in the region is recorded in the saying ‘Kei Puta Te Wairau’ meaning the sun always shines in the Wairau, or hole in the clouds.
‘‘We thought this was a really meaningful story specific to the region and related to shelter,’’ he said.
Marlborough Roads and the New Zealand Transport Agency undertook a design and build tender process with a capped value.
Staff stipulated the historic station, crime prevention, environmental design, access and health and safety issues were all incorporated into the plans.
They received two designs and an off-the-shelf project which was dismissed as unsuitable.
A Marlborough Express post on social media last month showed the shelter in the rain.
The post struck a chord up and down the country reaching 203,328 people, with 911 comments (707 on desktop) and 248 shares.
‘‘Some idiot in the local council being paid megabucks to come up with the design,’’ Aucklander Peter Glass said. ‘‘I would love to see his house if this is the best he could come up with ... but wait, maybe a committee designed it.’’
Kathleen Gilchrist, of Blenheim, called the shelter ’’a waste of money’’. The design was not sympathetic to its surroundings, she said.
The photograph of the shelter then featured on the ‘S*** Towns of New Zealand’ Facebook page where it was referred to as ’’Blenheim’s groundbreaking new roofless bus shelter’’.