SAN FRANCISCO TRANSIT SHELTER

"3form was great on this project. Without 3form, the end result would have never lived up to the concept. The roof was by far the biggest technical challenge and 3form made it happen."

-Olle Lundberg

Challenge
In an effort to revitalize public transit in San Francisco, and pioneer municipal environmental initiatives, MTA and Clear Channel held a design competition to redesign the bus shelters across the city. The winning concept, by Lundberg Design, called for photo-voltaic cells and recycled polycarbonate material. 3form accepted the challenge to manufacture the ground-breaking sustainable shelter canopies.

Design
The winning transit shelters consisted of an industrial structure with a bold, iconic roof design element. The concept for the undulating top of the shelter was inspired by seismic waves and the rolling hills of San Francisco. 3form Material Technology team collaborated closely with Lundberg Design to interpret this design while engaging their unparalleled knowledge to work with the unique material’s capabilities.

Material Development
As an exterior bus shelter application in metropolitan San Francisco, the design called for an incredibly durable material that could also be shaped into the requisite ripple form. Originally conceived using glass, 3form provided material consultation regarding the feasibility of glass in this application. The team chose polycarbonate for its extreme toughness; and for its manufacturability, ease of installation and relative cost.

Environmental Component
3form developed a custom color polycarbonate extruded with an unprecedented 40% pre-consumer recycled content. Under development agreement with Clear Channel Outdoor Advertising, 3form drove the research and development of the advanced material technology, incorporating Konarka Power Plastic strips along the reducing wave form. The roof houses and protects these organic photovoltaic modules that power the shelters themselves and additionally send power back to the city's grid.

Implementation
3form developed a manufacturing process to accommodate the city-wide implementation of 1,100 new shelters over the course of 5 years.