A-Level student thinks outside the box for Mersey Travel bus shelter assignment

21 Sep 2023

How did you come up with the idea?

We all got a brief to design something for the client, Mersey Travel. So, what you want to create for the bus stop is entirely up to you. I was toying with a few ideas. Environmentalism was a big one that I wanted to consider and there were a few routes I could go down with this through the use of materials. On the end product, I used organic features. Although, I used concrete that isn’t necessarily sustainable. It was weighing up the pros and cons of making it environmentally friendly and in the end, I wanted to focus more on creating that sense of community. A big part of design for me is always considering the user, so that was always at the front of my mind when coming up with ideas.

You can’t see it on the model as I didn’t get around to programming something for the visuals but the idea was to have a screen display on the back metal wall of the bus stop. Providing a QR code to upload a photo of maybe you and your friends or the area surrounding the shelter to create a collage of everyone’s images. Displaying the community on the screen with the idea of it continuously updating, so as time goes on the imagery can remain up to date with the people that live there.

Talk us through the environmental aspects of the design?

Obviously, bus travel or all kinds of public transport isn’t the best for the environment. So my idea was to try and make public transport more environmentally friendly by incorporating these organic features. So, while you do have CO2 emissions, the plants on the top of the shelter are their to improve the air quality and reduce the carbon footprint from buses. It was intentional that the power systems and electricity can be powered through the plants on top of the shelter too rather than fossil fuels.

What research/ design prep was involved?

During the design process, I did become quite obsessed with bus stops. I’d be out and about in different areas and find a shelter in somewhere quiet that would be quite basic. Then you’d go to somewhere in town an they’d be completely vandalised, metals were rusting, so it was big for me to use materials that were going to be a lot more durable and also not environmentally damaging. I knew I didn’t want to use any plastic. I did end up using concrete and a metal feature that isn’t necessarily renewable but it is better in terms of not releasing any chemicals. There are also these wooden pole features under the roof of it too. So it is a mix of durability and sustainability, which was kind of the main aim to combine the two. You’ve got the organic elements that are very renewable.

Were there any last minute changes?

Yes, there were. The outside bench area was not initially included. These pieces on the side were originally windows. We added more seating to increase space and improve the structural stability. A big part was the wooden beams, we did have a bit of a problem. If you look through the portfolio, there were about 7 trial runs of concrete breaking, so we settled on the idea of having these wood blocks to harden inside the concrete before drilling into it and that made it a lot more stable. That was not something that I think me or sir were able to anticipate going into it. The wooden beam was originally supposed to be a concrete beam.

How many versions (tests) did you do?

Originally we tried it with small pieces to get an idea of what it was like to make concrete composites because it’s not a material I’d used before and I don’t think sir had either. So we had a few test runs. Obviously we later had the problem with the concrete. It was a good experience because you learn a lot that you don’t necessarily think is going to be important, like balancing the ratios and how that can affect structural properties, so it was interesting. The final piece was somewhere between the  5^th and 7^th attempt.

Were there any bus stops that you were inspired by?

A few in Asia that I did see that were a lot more technologically advanced. The big one for me was the one I live up by in Kirby. There is a big one in the town centre and it’s all made of concrete and wood with these interesting designs to make it more durable so that’s where I got the inspiration for the concrete.

Has this assignment influenced any future projects?

Especially from the GSCE period I did quite advanced work that wasn’t necessarily what I was used too. I remember when I was in the younger years, it was quite traditional wood and metal work and I think after sir (Mr Swan) joined the school it was very different to see all of these possibilities, to think outside the box and develop very out there solutions to things you wouldn’t necessarily think about. This was probably one of the more tamer projects that I’ve done but it’s definitely changed my attitude towards problem solving.

The main pointers I have learnt from doing these projects from a design prospective, are the environmental and sustainability impacts and also considering the user. A lot of designs I see, they haven’t necessarily considered the user, what the customer needs out of certain things. It’s made me definitely environmentally conscious but I think it’s made me more empathetic to different people and the need to consider why certain things might not work for them.

What do you hope to do with the skills you have learnt, has it sparked any career prospects?

I am hoping to pursue a career in architecture. Whether that is through university or an apprenticeship. I’ll see what happens in the next year but I do feel like the skills I have learnt here, my digital design CAD work, will be very beneficial moving forward. Especially with making portfolios. I am keeping my options open, whether it is architecture or a form of engineering. It’s definitely going to be valuable.

What has been the most challenging part of this project?

I think a big part of DT that people don’t anticipate compared to other subjects, is you have to have a lot of patience. Obviously, this falling apart many times, you can kind of have those moments of ‘oh I’ll just pack it in it’s not worth it’ but it’s having the patience and resilience to carry on. It’s never a straight forward path, you have to be certain type of person to handle that. It’s a lot more challenging than people make it out to be.

When did you fall in love with Design & Technology?

I think the turning point for me was some time around Year 9 when Covid hit and we were picking our options. I was very torn between Art and Design & Tech and I always told myself prior to that it would always be Art. Then I got to that point of picking and I didn’t have that same level of passion for Art that I thought I would have. I liked the problem solving part of DT and it was a good bridge between the two.

I didn’t even register that you could do architecture engineering until my mum told me you could get paid to play the Sims in real life and I thought that was really cool. I didn’t find out about DT until starting Year 7, it was new and not something I’d been exposed to before. It was very eye opening and a new thing for me.

What would you like to do in the future?

The more I look into things the more confused I get. I would love to get into adapting buildings for the environment. I’m very against the whole using green space to create something. There are a lot of buildings that can be revamped to be more environmentally friendly. That is something I would like to look into. I look into chemistry too and there are so many opportunities and problems that would be interesting to look at. You look at places like Walton now, that is possibly getting a little dated and I feel like that can be repurposed. A lot of people are missing that opportunity and kind of just building on the nearest field; that I don’t agree with. Instead of building on new land we can use the spaces we have.