Smarter Hobart Challenge – Smart bus shelter winner selected
An innovative bus shelter that can use vibration and sound to inform passengers of an approaching bus has won the top prize in a design challenge that explores the future of Hobart’s public transport network.
The Smarter Hobart Challenge: Bus Shelter and Digital Interface Design Competition invited innovators to put forward their ideas for interactive, digitally enhanced, sustainable and accessible bus shelters. The competition attracted more than 120 innovators from across Australia, the USA, India, South America, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore, Hong Kong, Italy and France.
Sydney-based, international award-winning design firm, Supermanoeuvre, took out the challenge with an adaptive design that could be altered to suit different locations.
It is envisioned that some sites could accommodate a rotating shelter that could be moved to block wind and rain, to follow the sun, or take in views.
They are designed to be locally fabricated from sustainable Tasmanian hardwood plantation timber that is usually relegated to paper pulp, providing a tactile, cost-effective and distinctly Tasmanian product. The timber would undergo a cross-lamination process to boost its structural integrity.