Worm-Like Sculpture Attaches Itself to Portuguese Bus Stop
This unusual bus stop looks a bit like it has a parasitic growth protruding from its side. It is, in fact, an urban intervention by Portuguese firm Like Architects.
The project is called Bus Stop Symbiosis, and symbiosis is a better word than parasitic to describe the relationship between the existing structure and the added undulating one.
In a symbiotic relationship, it is possible for both organisms to benefit. The vaguely worm-like red wood fiber/resin addition benefits by entertaining passers-by and giving them a place to sit.
The bus stop benefits because the urban art installation provides them with an interesting object to study while they wait for the bus – most of them, no doubt, wondering what this weird curvy thing might be.
Installed as a temporary installation in an historic district of Largo dos Lóios, Oporto, Portugal, the unusual art object was only present for a short time in 2010.
Contrasting so starkly with its surroundings, the shape and color of the bright red sculpture was a statement about the historic world melding with the modern world.
A playful and interactive project, the Bus Stop Symbiosis drew attention to the existing structure while adding a fun but somewhat puzzling new element to the bus stop and the entire street.
More info via Archello:
“The public space of the site selected for the intervention – Largo dos Lóios – is designed by the flow of public transport, taking as central element a broad set of (three) banal bus stops. BusStopSymbiosis takes advantage of this centrality – worthy of an artistic intervention – and in a provocative approach encourages the public to think about the design of public space Standing next to an ordinary bus stop and creating a new inter-urban relationship, BusStopSymbiosis is an urban facility that aims not only to increase the space for seating in the existing bus stop, but as well to entertain those who are still waiting for their transport or just strolling up nearby. Unlike the existing seats, BusStopSymbiosis enables people to feel free to seat towards either side of the square, allowing them to voluntarily decide their position in the public space.”