New designer bus stations in Perm
A designer bus stop is a new way to enjoy true art. The first bus stop of a new generation appeared in the streets of Perm in December 2010. The designer of the new kinds of bus stops is a well-known Russian designer, businessman, blogger, [Artem Lebedev] by name. Moreover, he founded his own project- "Lebedev Studio". But the pictures, which are inside bus stations belong to the different artists. The special contest was held to attract designers and artists from Perm to create these pictures. Even some foreign designers took part in that competition.
The thing is, firstly, art was not the main purpose of creating the new stations. Experts of Perm Design Development Centre drew attention to the featureless stations because they are constantly exposed to attacks with the view of leaving some words in memory. Stations covered with drawings and inscriptions impel the government to create the new designer bus stations. It was the reason that the Museum of Modern Art – “PERMM” and Department of Roads and Transport joined their forces to turn the stations into the works of modern art. The artists were ordered to replace the transparent walls by their works.
The pictures inside the stops are duplicated from the original image on the self- adhesive film. In this way they fetch up at the stations. Besides, bus stops are covered with a special coating against the vandals. Stations are equipped with light boxes and timetables. The initial amount that was allocated for the equipment was 1.36 million rubles. But this is only the beginning! About 74 million rubles were allocated to setup stations.
The reaction of citizens was varied. Many people believe that this is a good experiment which can change the look of the city. But there are people who think that it's waste of money and time. They are sure that the old models of station perform their functions very well. But still the project is not going to be closed. Moreover, the government is ready to invest much more money in it. Recently, some new ideas were chosen to start installation the new consignment of the new designer bus stations.
