Twinfix, whose facility is situated on Birchwood Park in Warrington, have recently designed, manufactured and installed two very stylish but extremely functional bus shelters on the Park.
Jonathan Walsh, MD of Birchwood Park says “We have worked with Twinfix for a number of years and have always been happy with the service we have received.
We identified a need to enhance the quality and size of our bus shelters. We are committed to driving increased use of public transport and felt that traditional bus shelters provided inadequate protection from the elements during winter months. We therefore contacted Twinfix to progress this project. We were keen to not only meet the above objectives but also provide shelters which had architectural merit which complemented the surrounding buildings.
The results speak for themselves, Twinfix have designed and constructed two bus shelters which stand head and shoulder above the norm. We have received multiple positive comments and feel that we have fully achieved our objectives.”
The previous bus shelters comprised one vertical glazed back and a small curved roof, and provided little or no shelter to anyone waiting for a bus. Jonathan’s brief to Twinfix resulted in them producing some initial concept drawings for his consideration. After discussions between Jonathan and the Twinfix design team these were slightly modified to create the final model.
Each shelter is big – 4.9m long by 2.8m deep – and fitted inside with steel benches to two sides. The elegantly concaved front elevation was achieved by cold-curving 6mm bronze polycarbonate glazing and is 2.9m high at the top of the roof, so there is plenty of head room inside. The curved roof is also glazed with 6mm bronze polycarbonate, allowing in lots of natural light. Bronze polycarbonate was used as it will provide a level of protection against the heat of the summer sun. The back of each shelter consists of powder coated alu-clad panels from ground to waist height, with the bronze polycarbonate then installed up to the edge of the roof, whilst the sides also feature signage that includes the Birchwood Park logo.
The shelters were produced in the metallic grey, blue and turquoise Birchwood Park colour palette, right down to the heads of the security screws used to install the glazing bar systems.
Bright, internal lighting creates a welcome during dark nights while the single, double-sized open doorway ensures a high level of comfort from cold, wind and weather. In order to achieve a streamlined look the Twinfix fabricators hid the electrics within the aluminium structure during the manufacturing process.
As is standard with any structure they make, the aluminium framework of the shelters was dry-assembled in the Twinfix factory prior to powder coating. This ensures everything fits together easily and ensures speedy installation on site.
The installation process employed two groundwork phases. The initial foundations were laid and first fit electrics completed. The Twinfix installers then fitted the aluminium framework, the internal seating and the glazed roof. The groundwork was then finished off, leaving a perfectly flat surface with no trip hazards, after which Twinfix glazed the curved front, followed by the sides and back.
Says Rob Forsythe, the Twinfix Designer responsible for this project: “It’s great to be involved in a local project, especially one where the client wants something that is not only functional but is keen to have something that looks really good too. It was an interesting and enjoyable project to work on and we’re all very glad that Jonathan is happy with the final results.”
The bus shelters looks great – and going past them every day it’s good to see that people are using them.
The last word on this story goes to Jonathan Walsh: “The team at Twinfix should feel justifiably proud of this project.” Thank you, Jonathan – we do!
