When his experiments with ginger-blended recipes led G.L. Wainscott to create Ale-8-One back in the 1920s, could the Winchester soft drink maker possibly have had bus stops in mind, as well? Nearly a century later, the signature dark green bottle containing Wainscott's invention is the key medium for Lexington's first "Art in Motion" bus stop design: "Bottlestop."
"Bottlestop bus shelter is a very creative and exciting way to put public art in our neighborhoods, and I hope this is the first of several bus stops that will become Art in Motion projects as we go forward," said Mayor Jim Newberry at a recent press conference and groundbreaking ceremony organized by Art in Motion's Yvette Hurt to unveil the group's first project.
The groundbreaking event was held in front of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government's Versailles Road campus, site of the first shelter. "We're applying for funding from a transportation enhancement grant that had been granted to the LFUCG Council Corridors Committee for improvements to Versailles Road," Hurt explained. "We looked at ridership figures from Lextran and chose the bus stop that we thought was the most used, and in a location that was feasible for a project of this type."
To come up with an innovative concept, Art in Motion sponsored a national design competition seeking a blend of art and functionality. "The jurors didn't know where the designs came from or who submitted them," noted Hurt. Ironically, from among 17 entries sent from New York, Chicago and other areas of the country, the unaware jurors selected "Bottlestop," a submission from Jim McKay and Aaron Scales of Lexington's McKay Snyder Architects.
"I'm excited that it won because I'm from Kentucky and Ale-8 is something that I've grown up with," Scales said. "I really wanted other people to see what we have in Kentucky, what makes us special, and not having to go out and design in a bubble or seeing what the rest of the world is designing, but seeing what we can do here in Kentucky with what we have."
The glass and metal design calls for the use of structural silicone to bond together Ale-8-One bottles donated by the soda maker, which are then fitted between glass panels. Acknowledging the fragile nature of the materials, the design calls for tempered glass that shatters if broken, instead of breaking into more dangerous sharp-edged shards. That work is being carried out by O'Nan Glass. Seating inside the shelter will be of uneven heights to discourage lounging. Lighting at night will be powered by energy stored in solar panels provided by Voltaic Solar. "And that's one thing that we're going to require for every shelter we put out: that it be solar-powered," Hurt pointed out. "We want to actually set an example of not connecting to the grid and trying to use renewable resources to power our city services." Ale-8-One contributed $3,500 toward the cost of the solar panel and has offered to donate more bottles when needed. The general contracting firm E.C. Matthews Co. will carry out the installation of the bus stop, with electrical work by Phil Smyth, and Kawneer Architectural Products provided a deep discount on its price for aluminum.
A key aspect of the Art in Motion game plan is to channel funds into the local economy. "This project took federal dollars and circulated them in our local business community by hiring local contractors, a solar company startup, local architects. We've involved UK architecture, and I think that's a very sustainable concept," Hurt said. "Instead of shipping our dollars out of state, the shelters will be built here, helping to sustain our local economy and provide public art." The group is looking for private sector partnerships and will continue to seek state, federal and arts grants.
Hurt expects the "Bottlestop" structure on Versailles Road to be completed sometime in the fall. And her efforts won't end there or then. "We hope it will be used again, because we think it's going to be quite beautiful. We also are working on coming up with a very simple, elegant, prototype design that can fit in very limited spaces, because if you look around Lexington, many of our bus stops really are in locations where you don't have much room to place a shelter, and that smaller shelter would be designed to display two-dimensional art murals."
Open to feedback and additional ideas, Arts in Motion has scheduled a "Community Art Shelter Summit" for Oct. 11 at the Old Tarr Distillery on Manchester Street. The public is welcome.