Beating off hundreds of competitors, the Arriva public transport headquarters has made it into this annual award for the second year running. The station by RVDM architecture practice brings a contemporary atmosphere to the area with its sleek design in shades of green.
DesignCurial evaluated hundreds of bus stops and stations across the globe before narrowing it down to the top 10. Stations were ranked on design, innovation and the structure’s relationship to the environment.
Heading the list is Austria with a giant, chair-like structure built from stacked timber by Ensamble Studio and located in Krumbach.
Also in the top three is a mosaic, wave-shaped bus stop in Georgia by Zurab Tsereteli, which features in the book Soviet Bus Stops by Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig; and a bus station in Hamburg, Germany, standing out for its wing-shaped roof and designed by Blunck + Morgen.
The UK features four times on the list: Slough bus station placed fourth with its rippling aluminium body designed by Bblur Architecture in honour of local astronomer William Herschel.
Also from the UK were Stoke-on-Trent bus station by Grimshaw Architects (6th); Norwich’s spearheaded bus station by NPS (9th); and the brutalist building Preston bus station by BDP (10th).
Austria features twice on the list: the second bus stop (5th) from the same town of Krumbach was designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. It is made from vertical white rods and features steps.
“The aim was to draw attention to everyday objects that embody unique designs,” said DesignCurial web editor Katherine Houston in comments to The Portugal News.
“With Portugal featuring on the list for the second year running, it shows the country continues to be at the forefront of international design excellence,” she continued.