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Bus Stops by Lundberg Design and 3Form Generate Power for San Francisco

The city plans to build an additional 1,100 structures over the course of the next five years.

Laurel Petriello -- Interior Design, 8/19/2009 12:00:00 AM

3Form San Francisco solar panel bus stop

The wheels on the bus may go round and round generating speed, but four companies in San Francisco are now paying close attention to its right-hand man, the bus stop, to see whether or not it can serve another, more dynamic purpose: generating power.

Lundberg Design recently teamed with the 3Form, Konarka Technologies, and Clear Channel Outdoor to develop a new bus shelter design complete with solar panel, which help to produce energy for the entire city. The product aims to assist municipal environmental initiatives, as well as give a fresh new aesthetic to the city’s public transit system.

3Form San Francisco solar panel bus stop

The red and amber wave-shaped panels, which were modeled after seismic waves, are fabricated from 40 percent post-consumer recycled polycarbonate, complete with integrated photovoltaic cells. The panel not only powers the structure itself, but sends excess power back to the city’s grid.

San Francisco’s first new bus shelter was unveiled in late spring. The city plans to build an additional 1,100 similar structures over the course of the next five years.

Images by Ryan Hughes.