Image credit: City Lab
Arlington County is so affluent these days that downsizing million-dollar bus stops to mere half million-dollar bus stops is seen as an act of fiscal contrition. But the county — and every other jurisdiction in Virginia, for that matter — could learn a lesson from tiny Krumbach, Austria. Aiming to put the hamlet on the tourism map, a local cultural organization approached seven internationally known architects with an offer they couldn’t refuse: “Design a bus shelter for us and we’ll give you a free vacation in Krumbach.”
All seven accepted the challenge, according to the Atlantic City Lab, and the results were unveiled last month. Judging from the images above, some of the designs might have proven no more popular than the infamous million-dollar bus shelter on Arlington’s Columbia Pike. But the design costs would have been a whole lot cheaper and the results a lot more striking.
It’s too late to change the results in Arlington but perhaps Krumbach’s creativity can serve as inspiration for other Virginia communities bold enough to think big.
— JAB
