Design for a Traffic-Stopping Bus Stop

Waiting for a bus can be downright dismal.

At least New York artist Dennis Oppenheim thinks so, and that concern guided his design for a proposed bus station in Ventura that appears to dive into the ground as a bus and leap out, transformed, as a house.

The proposed “bus transfer facility” at the Pacific View Mall is meant to awe bus riders with an arching design that spirals through the air.

It is likely to be the most artistic transportation facility in the Ventura area, as well as its most innovative city-funded public art.

The 28-foot “Bus-Home” is designed to impress viewers with sharp angles and grand proportions, and the artists said it also has a social message: Perk up, bus riding isn’t so bad.

“I wanted the bus shelter to be uplifting, positive, something spirited,” Oppenheim said from his New York City home. “Conceptually it was meant as a structure which is in a frozen but animated state of transformation. I wanted to give these people the feeling that they would get home soon.”

The $1.7-million project includes public restrooms, seven bays for buses to unload, a bus turnaround and a central island where riders can wait. In addition, the leaping “Bus-Home” will shield about 35 people from Ventura’s rare bad weather.

The project still needs approval from the city’s design review committee, which will discuss the matter today and is expected to give final approval in the spring. The construction could be completed in about a year, city officials say.

Oppenheim, 62, has made his reputation with wacky, whimsical or downright disturbing art. His past works include earthworks in which he sculpted land to his own design, and body art for which he intentionally got himself sunburned around the outline of a book on his chest.

Tom Mericle, Ventura’s transportation engineer, chose Oppenheim because he expected him to design a bold structure that would bring attention to the city and its public transportation.

“There is an art tourism component to this,” Mericle said. “He is a well-known artist worldwide. This may encourage people to use public transit because they will think about this piece.”

Most riders at the dilapidated existing bus stop recently focused on the coming amenities--bathrooms, drinking fountains, phones, shelter from the rain, and maybe a soft drink machine.

Helen Howard, 68, looking at a picture of the project after a day of shopping, “It looks safer, especially for women. Anything would be better than this.”

An aerial view shows the pavement formed and painted to look like a bus, complete with faces peeking from painted windows, and big bushes for wheels.

Donna Granata, a local artist and founder of Focus on the Masters, a program that documents artists, praised Oppenheim’s sophistication and experience.

“The fact that one of his pieces will be here adds tremendous credibility to the public art program and to the city,” she said. “This is one more thing for people here to see. There is nothing like this in the county.”