Bus Shelter Information

As of March 1st 2007, the Village of Alfred Planning Board has approved the conceptual plans of the Alfred Plaza Project. The project has involved over 30-40 students from Alfred State College and Alfred University combined. A majority of the work has been completed by the Alfred State Timber Framing Club, as they have pre-fabricated the structural components of the project.



Construction is slated to precede Hot Dog Day on April 25-26 2008. We will showcase the finished project on this date, and highlight the various businesses, individuals and companies that provided support for the project.



The structural beams and wood will be white oak, using traditional timber framing techniques.



Corian(R) will compose a large portion of this project in an innovative manner to create the 7 benches located throughout the Alfred Plaza. Approximately 1.5 tons of scrap flashing pieces will be diverted from the landfill and utilized as a building material to create the benches.



The Corian(R) flashing will be accompanied by another waste material that was procured from the Hudson Valley Materials Exchange. Estee Lauder produced a promotional bracelet made from translucent pink acrylic. The bracelet didn't make it to the hands of consumers for unknown reasons and was landfill bound, but was rescued by several material reuse organizations throughout New York State. The benches will utilize roughly 1000 bracelets as spacers between the Corian(R) scrap to reduce the weight of the benches and permit water to flow through. The bracelets and Corian(R) will be visible through 1/4" gaps between white oak slats covering the benches.

The ball is rolling...down a steep mountain of progress

Concrete footers were poured to support the structure. The footers have inset areas to accept terra cotta tiles or bronze plaques. The edges are chamfered, and will be polished to 600 grit to expose the colors of the aggregate.



The timber frame struture was prefabricated in Wellsville by Leon Buckwalter and his timber framing club. On Saturday April 19th, the structure was raised, starting at 9 in the morning and ending at 5 at night. What was once a vacant construction site for 5 months is now a shining beacon of success, taking less than 9 hours to complete.



The 7 benches for the structure will provide seating for many bus goers, as well as a community gathering area for people to converse and interact.



The project will be completed after the terra cotta roof and pavers are to cover the ground. Additional landscaping is on the horizon, but will likely occur next fall.

Timber Framing Update

The timber frame prefabrication is 85% complete. Leon Buckwalter, the Alfred State Timber Framing professor, is heading up this effort with flying colors. The finishing touches such as chamfering a couple edges and applying finish are all that remain to be completed. Another task is laying out sections to double check the correct footer placement for the post bases. The raising date is approaching quickly, however the weather in Alfred is always questionable in April.

Corian® Benches

The Corian® benches, supported by donations of Corian® flashing from DuPont, and rigid conduit from Fastenal have been completed! Each bench weighs upwards of 600 lbs, diverting close to 2 tons of Corian® flashing scrap from the landfill. The benches are primarily constructed from recycled materials including: off-spec Estee Lauder pink bracelets, a repurposed rigid conduit lighting grid and recycled plastic timber.

Bench progress

The benches for the Alfred Plaza are underway.



Two holes are drilled into each piece of Corian® flashing to accept a 2" galvanized pipe for structural support. The pieces are spaced by a failed Estee Lauder promotional bracelet, rescued from the business waste stream by the Hudson Valley Materials Exchange.



The benches will most likely be clad with a composite decking material. They will be virtually maintenance free for the next 25-30 years, which should be a relief for the Village of Alfred department of Public Works.

Community information poster by Anneke Dunnington

Anneke Dunnington used an assignment in her design class to make this poster for COTTA. Comment cards were placed below the poster to encourage people to voice their opinion about the bus shelter.

AU Alumni News Press Release

http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?&ID=3748

Tor Echo article written by Andrew Altoft

Alternative viewpoints of the proposed Alfred Plaza

Pictured below are alternative viewpoints of the proposed Alfred Plaza. COTTA and the Alfred State Architecture Club envision the space as a communal gathering area, where conversation arises and people have a pleasant place to sit. Its dual function is a bus shelter, which blocks the prevailing wind and provides shelter for those waiting for the bus.

The backrest, and wind-block of the structure is also a large communal posting board, where temporary postings and permanent postings (such as the bus schedule) will be located. The small circular space adjacent to the corner will be equipped with a bolt pattern in the ground to accommodate temporary installations of artwork.

The paving pattern will provide access to the seating space, while allowing people to shortcut the field, which happens frequently. The small green spaces on the corner and in between the street and pavers will be filled with landscaping and foliage, leaving the lawn of the Box of Books as open space.

The terra cotta tile will be Rhino Tiles, donated by John Ninos and Terry Palmiter. In addition, artists from the New York State College of Ceramics may incorporate custom tiles or crested finials to compliment and enhance the terra cotta work. The posts for the structure may be hand-hewn pressure-treated decommissioned telephone poles. This is subject to the availability of the poles.

We are seeking final approval of the project during the March 1st Village Planning Board meeting. If there are any concerns regarding the semi-finalized design, please either post a comment or contact the author of this blog at gbh1@alfred.edu.

Planning Board Presentation

On February 1st, COTTA and The Alfred State Architecture Club made a presentation to the Village of Alfred Planning Board. This was COTTA's second appearance, and we had come along way since the first meeting. Matt Rink, Bland Hoke and Justin Cross presented the two groups work, which culminated in many different Auto-CAD site plans, floor plans, renderings and virtual placement of the new bus shelter in the existing location. The next steps will be to organize a call for artists, submit applications for building permits, and meet with the code enforcement officer to move forward with the project.

Help design a new bus stop

Please click on the picture below to view the Charrette informational poster.

Charrette

char·rette -[shuh-ret] : a final, intensive effort to finish a project, esp. an architectural design project, before a deadline.

At the end of the fall semester, members of COTTA met with the president of the Alfred State College Architecture Club. A tentative plan has been set to hold a charrette to solve the design problem of the bus shelter. This will involve business members, elected officials, residents, faculty and students.

COTTA has posted public input forms around the Village of Alfred. Those that have indicated on the response forms will be sent notice of the exact date and time of the charrette. It will most likely take place around the end of January. COTTA will present the design for the planning board to review in February, and if a further revision is needed, a final review in March. This will leave March and April to fabricate individual elements for the construction.

VOTING

COTTA is requesting input from the public. Your votes will ultimately influence the final design used for the Bus Shelter. Community input is our primary source of information so please vote and leave comments by clicking on the comments link below any post.

Listed Below are 4 concept designs COTTA has developed. We are interested in gathering opinions, comments, concerns and considerations in regards to the conceptual designs. The structure is a starting point, and our next steps will be to develop an architectural style as an overarching theme for the project. COTTA will then identify areas for artistic interpretation such as brackets, benches, post carvings and floor mosaics. Please feel free to post comments!

Alfred Community Outreach Through The Arts (COTTA) is a student initiative pursuing public art projects to enhance the aesthetics of the Village of Alfred. COTTA provides students with an educational experience in public art making while providing the Village with the service of renovation and beautification.

The Bus Shelter is COTTA's pilot project with the goal of creating a sustainable public art commission within the Village of Alfred. COTTA is funded in part by the Community Initiative Grant from the School of Art and Design at Alfred University.

The present Bus Shelter is around 30 years old, and COTTA has determined it is a structure in need of attention. We have developed 4 concept designs to replace the existing structure.

We are interested in gathering public opinion about the existing structure and our concept designs to develop a project that reflects the public and enhances the physical appearance of Alfred.