The Glass Butterfly is inspired by a formal negotiation between the delicacy of glass and its structural integrity. Sponsored by a glazing manufacturing company the competition’s programmatic purpose was to take a bus shelter, an atypical, ubiquitous object within the public realm, and create a design for a rural area of Denmark.
The design wanted to be self-referential and authoritative in the landscape. Trees, weaving grass, and big canopies were key inspirational organic forms. The gentle nature of the Danish environment became the source for the proposed biomorphic volume. Like a graceful butterfly, this structure radiates its immaterial presence to its surroundings during the day as well as night. This scalable transparent container, almost a frozen membrane, is a place of protection, sheltering users from rain, wind, and sun.
Despite its seemingly imminent flight from the ground, this artifact is securely anchored to the soil through unobtrusive steel connections. Maximum structural integrity is provided by the graceful, U-shaped glass bays. The bays are scalable to afford a variety of seating arrangements for those who are alone, couples, or groups of friends with deep protection from wind and rain.