Safe Stations: Protected Bus Stops Along the Gaza Border and in the North of Israel
The pilot bus station was designed and built at the Technion as part of a course in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning
A first-of-its-kind protected community bus stop was designed and built by Technion students as a pilot for new bus stops in Israel. This is the tenth in a series of community engagement projects in Studio 1:1, part of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, under the guidance of Arch. Dr. Dan Price and Arch. Michal Bleicher. The course was led by Dr. Yael Danin-Poleg from the Technion Social Hub.
The unique bus stop was designed to address insights and lessons learned from October 7. The protected area shields waiting passengers from both shrapnel and blasts and includes added features for personal safety, such as phone charging stations, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a system designed to inform bus drivers of people waiting at the stop. The bus stop was designed in three sizes, reflecting the expected number of users. The pilot project built at the Technion is the largest of the three options.
The idea of the protected bus stop was born at the hackathon “The Day After – Housing, Accommodation, and Community,” held shortly after the events of October 7, 2023, and initiated by various architects, including Bleicher. The hackathon focused on promoting social projects proposed by academia.
The design included responses to various needs, beyond protection and shelter from shrapnel. These include protection from rain and sun, wheelchair accessibility, solutions for lengthy waiting times, bicycle and scooter parking, a drinking water fountain, the integration of vegetation, and the possibility of displaying information for the local community. It is a “smart station” with warning mechanisms and sensors – a feature integrated by Tom Sofer from the Center for Smart Technologies in the Taub Faculty of Computer Science.
The planning included selecting ideas from 15 proposals and holding three meetings with professionals from various national infrastructure organizations: Netivei Israel, Netivei Ayalon, the Ministry of Transport, the Home Front Command, and the Western Negev Regional Cluster. The station was built by a group of students during a semester break at the National Building Research Institute at the Technion. It is located near the Technion sports complex, where it will be used for testing and further research. The project involved 30 students from the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning and was supported by the Azrieli Foundation and numerous local donors.
