May 24, 2006

	Preliminary models of the street furniture. Images courtesy City of New York

The New York City Department of Transportation recently signed a contract ordering thousands of bus shelters, newsstands, and public toilets  designed by Grimshaw Industrial Design, a division of London-based Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, produced for the Spanish company, Cemusa. The deal has been approved by the city, and is expected to get final approval from New York’s comptroller in a matter of weeks. The deal is worth about $1 billion. The line includes 3,300 bus shelters, 330 newsstands, and 20 automatic toilets, all made of stainless steel, anodized aluminum, and tempered glass.

“Working in New York, you are able to achieve a greater economy of scale with a large production run,” says Duncan Jackson, head of industrial design for Grimshaw. “We’re able to work with better materials and have stronger quality controls.”

The new structures balance robustness with lightness, such as in the bus shelter, which has a cantilevered design with just two feet on the ground, thanks to a large plate anchored underneath the pavement. The firm eliminated painted finishes and plastics, which are less durable over the long term. According to Jackson, the goal is to have a “neutral impact regardless of the site,” a welcome relief for New York’s cluttered streetscapes.

Alan G. Brake

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