This art-focused bus shelter in Madison Square Park was created for a NYSID MFA-1 Studio 1 Project, for a theoretical bus route connecting NYC’s iconic museums (including the MoMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, Whitney, and New Museum).

This project involved created hand-drawn floors plans, elevations and diagrams (circulation and fenestration/aperture), as well as a hand-drawn digital colored perspective drawing, and building a physical three-dimensional model in 1/2” scale.

This bus shelter has been designed to be multi-functional as a permanent, immersive art installation, and a functional bus transit stop. It intends to be a sculpture which both physically and perceptually immerses people, incorporating them as part of the sculpture as they sit or stand within it, providing them with an opportunity for introspection and to feel like part of the art rather than just an observer. Its use of form, light and material aim to simultaneously harmonize and juxtapose with the natural park environment, creating an intentional discomfort, similar to the intent of many impactful art and sculpture pieces. 

The shelter's organic, knotted design is inspired by the Guggenheim in Bilbao's knotted flowing forms. Its curved form aligns with the pathways of the park and naturally curved forms of nature, harmonizing with the landscape and movement around it. This is juxtaposed by the use of its somewhat ‘harsh’, modern, and industrial materials of metal and clear resin, which seem traditionally “out-of-place” within the park’s natural greenery, and which challenge traditional notions of what “belongs” within this park space. However, these metal materials reflect nearby buildings and movement throughout the park, strengthening the structure’s connection to its surrounding space. While being within this space, the textured glass provides an almost kaleidoscopic perspective of the nearby park and city, reinforcing the structure’s artistic, slightly disorienting nature. In addition to the textured glass, the perforated metal contributes to the sculpture’s manipulation of light, casting patterns of light throughout the sculpture’s interior, similar to Tadao Ando’s work. 

Further, built-in interactive features of the shelter add practical value: seating areas are integrated into the walls, blending form and function, and stools are scattered around the shelter, further integrating the design into the park’s surrounding areas. Interactive digital screens, within the structure and outside of it, with real-time bus updates and museum information (such as current exhibitions and ticket information), ensure visitors are well-informed and engaged. To signal bus arrivals and departures, an audio noise resonates alongside LED lighting signals through the resin panels illuminating in various colors.