NYC All Electric Bus Chargers 2019

Designers: Ignacio Ciocchini, Ciocchini Design, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Manufacturer: Proterra, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

Conductive electrical equipment components for fast-charging ALL Electric Buses (5min for 1.5hr charge) are big and bulky and pose a complicated problem for cities to locate them and re-design and retrofit existing public spaces and sidewalks. Instead of installing gigantic 1950's looking utilitarian electrical boxes on public land, like several other states and cities have done in the US, New York City required the vendors to look at the problem in a different way and strive to do better.

The design for the prototypical NYCT's All Electric Bus Chargers double-up as benches, leaning bars, and a glass overhangs, providing some of the functionality that bus-shelters offer. Instead of taking up existing public space, they can replace an existing bus shelter, or provide one were it did not exist before. Large gates with heavy-duty stainless steel hinges on the backside provide access for technical personnel to facilitate the inspection and maintenance of the switchgear, transformers, compressors and other necessary equipment.

A minimal asymmetrical laser-cut pattern on the polyester powder-coated aluminum cladding panels provide ventilation for the equipment while making references to the digital worlds, new urban mobility technologies, movement, and the 21st Century. The subtle changing angles of the horizontal seams between the cladding panels elegantly articulate the rectangular shape. An inner e-coated and powder-coated stainless-steel vertical structure provides support and rigidity for the unit. The aluminum cladding panels are organized in groups of three, these groups are removable via tamper-proof stainless-steel hardware.

This design is proposed to be used when it is NOT possible to install the electrical equipment in private and/or public land that is not designated as public space or a sidewalk and that is out of sight, or when it is NOT possible to create a concrete vault below grade to install the equipment. The two options mentioned above while possible, are extremely difficult and expensive to build in New York because of the severe lack of space, the price of owning or renting space, and the huge number of public and private utilities that are already installed underground. A plain version of the charger design, without the benches, leaning bars, and glass overhand, was also designed and is being tested now long with the main design. This version will be used when the equipment is installed in private property, yards that belong to city agencies, parking lots, and other areas that are not public space but visible to pedestrians.

This project also included a bit of a re-design of the existing standard bus-charging masts in use by the industry and urban siting recommendations.

The design is prototypical for New York and relates to the existing street furniture line in the city. NYCT New York City Transit, NYC Department of Transportation, and the NYC Public Design Commission approved the design for use. The design is flexible and modular and can adapt to changes in electrical equipment sizes in the future, or the needs of different vendors NYCT may work with in the future. Not all electric bus companies use the same technology for charging, and the market is changing rapidly. This design thinks about the future and provides one citywide standard solution for the City of New York that can grow and adapt as the technology evolves and becomes more efficient.