Bus Bench

San Antonio, TX

As a critique of the bus stops that provide little useful shade for most of the day in San Antonio, we designed and fabricated a prototype bus bench and shading device that is user-operable and moves to shade people from the sun throughout the day. The design consists of a steel and fabric canopy structure that pivots on a pin connection at two steel columns. The 8-foot long bench on four casters serve as a counterweight and mechanism that shifts the canopy into the ideal position for cover.

Bus Bench — animated diagram of the canopy tracking the sun

Bus Bench — steel columns and pin connection supporting the canopy

Bus Bench — fabricating the steel frame in the shop

Bus Bench — the rolling bench acting as canopy counterweight

Bus Bench — people testing the shaded bench prototype

Bus Bench — completed prototype casting afternoon shade

Lake | Flato Architects / September 2016
Adam Heisserer, Seema Kairam, Catherine St Pierre,
Alex Pineda, Serena Ching

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