Penson gave Poole Bus Station a bright and breezy makeover on a tight budget by cladding its sixties’ concrete canopy with a mural inspired by local leisure pursuits.

Key facts

PROJECT: Poole Bus Station
DESIGNER: Penson
CLIENT: Wilts & Dorset Bus Company, part of Go South Coast, Borough of Poole and Grosvenor Estates
SIZE: 885 sq m
COMPLETION Time: 12 weeks

Project description

Think of a bus station and you probably imagine dull concrete, rusting metal, exhaust fumes and broken vending machines. But good design is all about making things better – a feat architecture and interior design practice Penson accomplished with its renovation of Poole Bus Station.

All the design team had to work with was a huge concrete canopy, built in the early Sixties, which cast its dull shadow over the bus stops below.

‘If there had been a larger budget’, says designer Anna Pizzey, ‘we would have started over. But that not being the case, we had to find a way to really brighten up the space on a very tight budget.’

The answer was to make the best of what was already there by cladding the canopy in graphic panels featuring designs inspired by the local area.

‘I started experimenting with images based on local activities, such as surfing, volleyball and golf,’ explains Pizzey. ‘But I wanted it to look as if these things were happening above you – so when you look up, you see the underside of the surfboard, as if the canopy is the surface of the sea.’ The graphic elements of the mural are so large that they appear as abstract forms, which regular users of the bus stop will begin to recognise over time.

Once the mural was designed and a small-scale version printed and arranged by the Penson design team, the graphics were sent to NES Digital, which printed them on to boards made from a coated aluminum called Dibond. The mural was then adhered to the underside of the canopy. Bespoke lighting by Marlow Integrated Designs has transformed what was once a dull and shadowy area, brightening up the bus stops and illuminating the colourful mural.

Chris Harris, public relations manager of bus operator Go South Coast, says: ‘Penson has done a really good job – we are delighted with the result.’ If only all the UK’s bus stations could look this good.

Project Suppliers

Marlow Integrated Designs – www.midlighting.co.uk
NES Digital – www.nes-solutions.co.uk
North Essex Signs – www.nes-solutions.co.uk