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Bellemo & Cat
An architect and artist team in Melbourne have come up with a striking building-cum-sculpture that aims to promote and enhance the enjoyment of taking public transport, using an innovative brick construction method.
The Park-Ride-Shop facility by Bellemo and Cat is based on a Mobius Loop, which inspired ideas about sustainable commuting. “We were trying to set up an iconography for a new transport station,” says artist Cat MacLeod. “This building looks like a loop, which reinforces ideas of closed loops and sustainable technology. We think public transport is an important way forward – it’s a simple way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars. Producing buildings that look like what they do is an easy way of reinforcing those ideas to people.”
The Mobius Loop also allowed the designers to clearly differentiate between the inside and outside of the building while using the same materials for both. “We wanted a contrast between the internal and external surfaces,” says architect Michael Bellemo. “We used Euroa glazed bricks in Wattle and Golden Crown, with the glazed surface on the inside, where it is smooth and easy to clean. The rough texture of the brick shows up outside, where it is combined with a mixture of Daniel Robertson Grey and Buff bricks, to give us a great contrast between the inside and outside of the loop.”
Designed to sit alongside major commuting routes, the inclusion of a helical awning gives the building a certain ‘wow’ factor. “The bricks give a sense of tactility to the large sweeping helix and produce a sense of awe, because you look in the sky and think ‘Those bricks are flying, or leaping through the air! What might I achieve if I catch the bus?’” says MacLeod. “We are celebrating the remarkableness of the everyday. Brick is humble but we’ve made it do something quite majestic.”
The building’s curves are achieved using a post-tensioned system where bricks are threaded on to metal rods. These are assembled in rows, tied at the top and bottom, and twisted to achieve the curving effect. The pioneering system has plenty of appeal for future building projects, Bellemo asserts. “For larger public buildings, it could be very attractive to builders because the elements can be constructed off-site for quicker onsite construction.”
In this scheme, the construction method provides an additional benefit for commuters – the holes in the bricks that are not used for threading can be used to heat the seats. It’s just one of several attributes that aim to make commuting more comfortable. “Although it has to be a durable and tough building, we wanted it to have a sense of intimacy, we didn’t want it to be a daunting experience,” MacLeod says.
“It’s a nice place to go, rather than a cold unfriendly bus stop,” Bellemo adds. “It’s shaped so it promotes talking and the café and store have changed the nature of the building: it’s somewhere to get a coffee, buy a magazine to read on the bus, and grab some shopping for dinner.”
MacLeod says the building could help to upgrade the image of public transport. “It’s vital that these buildings become beautiful and that people are congratulated for taking the bus, and that the station where they start their journey is good,” she says. “The building should be a valuable asset that is treated with respect and the people who use public transport should be treated as valuable members of the community.”
