BNCA Students transform misused and closed Bus Stop into an Urban Interaction Space
Pune 24 August 2017: It was not till long ago that a Bus Stop at Sahjanand Society which was built in 2014 became unused as the route was closed. In due course, the bus stop began to be misused for various reasons including drinking, dumping waste and toilet. Being in a residential area, the misused bus stop created a lot of nuisance. The resident just behind the bus stop was also fed up as the space between the bus stop and their compound was also misused. Finally 35 Students from BNCA led by student leader Rutuja Badve and working for a competition of National Association of Students of Architecture started working on the transformation of this Bus Stop from 15th August, to convert it into a vibrant urban public space, with some small interventions.
The Bus Stop has been named ‘Alpaviram’ with an idea to celebrate the pause in life. Located at Sahajanand Society, Gopinath Nagar Road, the space will provide opportunities for people to sit, interact and enjoy the pauses in life. Rutuja Badve informed “The effort was to create a small gathering space for citizens nearby by creating some value using cost effective solutions.
When students took over the bus stop it was in total disarray. The students added blocks to sit, library and a plant bed. The sides have a blackboard installed for small children who come to the nearby play area. The other side has a caricature. More than 20 books have already been received in donation and senior citizens are happy about the new space they will enjoy.
While there are 250 odd bus stops which are not being used, ‘Aplaviram’ can be used as a model of creating urban interaction spaces.
Alpaviraam, offers a wide spectrum of activities for kids as well to the senior citizens. It was inaugurated in a small ceremony at the hands of Cartoonist Charuhaas Pandit of the Chintoo fame on 23rd August 2017.
This initiative by the students is ably supported by BNCA Authorities, especially Principal Dr. Anurag Kashyap, the citizens nearby (Mr. Shrikant Mahajan and his son Sanil) and the parents of students’ team.
The student team was guided by Prof. Mahesh Bangad of BNCA along with Dr. Shubhada Kamalapurkar, Dr. Chetan Sahasrabudhe and Prof. Rahul Chutake.
