Vancouver, BC – Students at Citystudio retrofitted a bus shelter to appear like a train car on Sunday 24th May, 2015 as part of the MT Station project. The pop-up event took over the double-length shelter at Willow St and Broadway until May 29th, the end of Vancouver’s Transit Plebiscite voting period.
“Engaging the community is so important to the work we do. Once again the students at CityStudio have put together a fun and interactive installation that raises awareness and actively engages people in their daily lives.” said Chris Robertson, planner at the City of Vancouver. “This interesting and highly accessible project draws attention to the future of transportation and transit in our region and is exactly what’s needed to inspire voters to participate in the plebiscite.”
This playful installation invites the passing public to imagine how their commute could be improved with the proposed Broadway subway extension. “We have enough people talking about why we need better transit.” said Chiyi Tam, project lead at Citystudio. “It’s time to provide a compelling experience and make people feel something; offering tangible reasoning into the debate.” The entire shelter will be retrofitted to match the interior of your familiar skytrain. By altering the bus station’s glass panels with adhesive vinyl, applying slipcovers to the existing shelter’s seating and creating customized train arrival announcements, these students anticipated that the added changes to the bus stop provides a convincing transformation.
Members of the public were asked to occupy the shelter as they normally, and to be prepared for an unexpected experience. Students encouraged the public to immerse themselves in the subway experience using the hashtag #mtstation to post the action!
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CityStudio is an innovation and leadership hub inside City Hall where staff, citizens and students from 6 universities co-create solutions making Vancouver more liveable, joyful and sustainable. CityStudio convenes stakeholders, defines problems and creates solutions while developing student skills and retaining the talent of next generation changemakers. Using the “teaching hospital” model inside City Hall, students are redefined as key problem solvers in cities. Since 2011, 50 city staff, 75 faculty 93 professionals and 3000 students have contributed 75,000 hours of new projects and public sector innovation in Vancouver.
For more information, interviews, or inquiries please contact Citystudio manager – Lena Soots
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