This project began as a simple idea: Develop sustainable bus shelters on the University of Kentucky campus as a means to explore ideas of architecture, engineering, sustainable strategies and interdisciplinary collaboration. While these goals are at the heart of the research, it is clear that to see it within these limited terms represents a huge missed opportunity. This is our Point of Departure.

We need to reimagine the urban scale of campus through strategic acupuncture; a series of interactive, networked, didactic, and iconic structures, each bringing a unique identity to the spaces and sites where they are located. Our goal is to further situate the University of Kentucky as an infrastructural leader in the Commonwealth while integrating solar power, thus expanding the university’s energy portfolio and addressing issues germane to meeting the needs of a “Sustainable Campus Exemplar” [1] that positions the University of Kentucky as a standard bearer for the Commonwealth’s energy infrastructure and sustainability programs. The structure and site link master planning concepts of programmed green space with sustainable transit and energy production creating destinations and event spaces for students that are not often associated with a transit shelter. Each shelter is designed to maximize the opportunities latent at each site and to outwardly express this integrated identity to students, visitors and to the city of Lexington.

Over the last decade, there is a renewed interest in public transit. In fact, several cities and numerous campuses, have invested in public transit as a core element of a sustainable city that conveniently moves people between destinations and improves their quality of life [2]. This offers our team a unique opportunity to reimagine transit-related shelter, investigate ridership, and improve the transportation experience. In parallel, there is a growing public consciousness of sustainable thinking’s value and how it is presented to an increasingly “conscious consumer” [3]. This renewed interest and growing consumer consciousness has challenged communities around the world to rethink public transit, prompting several cities to hold design competitions, seeking novel, innovative solutions. Our core research question driving the project can be summed up this way, “what is a contemporary transit shelter?”

LexTran (The Transit Authority of Lexington, KY) has partnered with Arts-In-Motion to produce a series of site-specific, arts-oriented shelters across the city. Their goal is to increase ridership and thereby, have a sustainable impact [4]. The LexArts shelters tend to be highly visible, one-off designs with an arts-centered focus—a single stop in the larger network. In contrast, our proposed project would put greater emphasis on the sustainability of the design and demonstrate its impact on the larger network by incorporating integrated dashboard systems. The shelters would not only be a convenient away station, but a valuable outward expression of applied sustainable research and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Further, it would illustrate UK’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

Other campuses have implemented similar solar projects—Virginia Tech installed a solar shelter in 2013 [5]. While our shelters will generate solar power, it will also be used to provide an opportunity for deeper-learning, literally bring the classroom beyond the building. In this context, our designs will both provide educational and interactive opportunities that increase rider comfort, provide integrated lighting solutions, and increase mobility via alternate transportation.

One issue often overlooked in sustainability is safety. Campus safety is an issue that affects our community and while our incidents are low compared to other universities, any incident is one too many. Robberies and assaults occur too frequently at the edges of the campus where bus shelters are typically located. Studies have shown that incidents of crime are dramatically reduced in areas that are well lit. A critical design feature for our shelter is to create a safe, well-lit, zone for students, faculty, and staff. Our solution will be studied as both “off-grid” and “grid-tied” solutions. As such, we are proposing to use solar power that could generate power locally and reduce the campus carbon footprint.

Martin Summers and Michael Wilson

[1] Presidents Advisory Committee, “Statement on Sustainability Policy and Principles”, Jan. 2009 http://www.sustainability.uky.edu/policy

[2] "Transportation: Public Transit." Baltimore Office of Sustainability Web. 2013. < http://www.baltimoresustainability.org/transportation/public-transit >.

[3] “New Partnership Allows UK Students, Faculty, Staff to Ride Lextran Buses for Free with Wildcard ID.” Lextran website. June 16, 2015. < http://www.lextran.com/blog/2015/06/new-partnership-allows-uk-students-faculty-staff-to-ride-lextran-buses-for-free-with-wildcard-id >

[4] Schlecht, Kathy. "Conscious Consumers and public transit." Insights into the Conscious Consumer Web. 13 Mar. 2014. < http://blog.claritycoverdalefury.com/conscious-consumers-public-transit/ >.

[5] Goodwin, Neva. “Economic Vitality in a Transition to Sustainability.” Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/te/GEGWS-GoodwinChapter.pdf