BUS STOP – SUPER SPOT

umschichten

9 – 11 September 2017

Why do bus stops look they way they do? Decisive here is an operator model that promises the public sector an all-round carefree package, and in return offers private companies the revenues of advertising spaces.

But couldn’t a bus stop offer added value for actors or institutions that are situated in its direct surroundings? Couldn’t a bus stop that is located close to a student dormitory have a tower of ‘tiny houses’ with student dorms on top of it? Couldn’t a bus stop at a traffic junction also contain a bike rental station with repair workshop and pony station? Or simply a good espresso bar? How could this space be used diversely and shared valuably?

Umschichten (Restacking) aims to imagine an individualized, contextualized principle connected to sponsorship. Actors become sponsors for bus stops and their public functions. However, in addition they acquire the possibility to install a programme or usage with added value for the community. As such, sponsors become builders of “their” bus stops, and together with architects, designers and mediators, they develop “super spots” in public space.