Plug & Wait

잠시___정류소 | A Modular Bus Stop System for Seoul

period	2020
competition	2020 Seoul Architecture Festival Student Ideas Competition, “Architecture in Between”
award	Excellence Award
team	Six-person team
role	Modular system concept; unit and base spatial-module design

잠시___정류소 interprets the small footprint occupied by a bus stop and the short wait between journeys as gaps in everyday life. Boarding and alighting, passenger information, and weather protection establish the basic requirements. The modular system adjusts the form and extent of each stop to site-specific conditions including sidewalk width, street trees, parks, and cultural spaces.

Bus Stops and Waiting in Seoul

A bus stop is a public space for a brief stay between destinations. The project defines the area occupied by the stop as a gap in space, the wait between journeys as a gap in time, and the impression left by its location, form, and use as a gap in memory.

These conditions informed a modular system that expands the waiting area and reflects each site through form and program.

Linear Units and Multi-directional Joints

Pipe systems use a small set of linear members and connectors to create assemblies of different lengths and directions. The proposal applies this assembly logic through a modular system of linear units and multi-directional joints.

Each linear unit sets the required frame length. Multi-directional joints extend or branch the horizontal frame and connect the overhead frame to vertical supports. Panels fitted between the units carry route maps, bus arrival information, lighting, and signage.

Minimum Module and Incremental Expansion

The spatial module begins with the smallest stop that can fit within a constrained site. Adding linear units and joints extends the canopy, supports, and waiting area along a line or branches them in multiple directions. The assembly logic has no prescribed endpoint; each added unit produces a different scale and configuration.

Two Areas, Six Site Conditions

To examine the modular system under site-specific conditions, six bus stops were selected around Gwanghwamun Station Intersection, Seoul Forest Station, and Under Stand Avenue. The four Gwanghwamun sites cover a broad sidewalk, a stop between street trees, a park edge, and a median bus lane. The two Seoul Forest sites cover a narrow sidewalk and a stop beside a cultural space.

On the broad sidewalk at Gwanghwamun, the frame extends linearly along pedestrian movement. Between the street trees, it branches around their positions; at the park edge, the module expands into the open space behind the stop. In the median bus lane, the base spatial module repeats horizontally to fit the constrained width and bus stopping positions.

Along the narrow sidewalk at Seoul Forest, the stop is set back so the pedestrian path remains in front, and a bicycle parking module is attached. Beside Under Stand Avenue, the frame extends toward the park to create a place to pause between the stop and the cultural space.

01-907 Toward the terminus	01-120 Toward City Hall · Seosomun Annex	01-129 Toward City Hall Intersection

01-009 Toward Jongno 1-ga	04-117 Toward Seongdong-gu Community Sports Center	04-178 Toward Ttukdo Arisu Water Purification Center

Project Film

Reference Data

The public statistics and team survey used during the design process are listed below.

Bus Stops and Bus Use in Seoul

Survey item	Response	Share
Number of bus stops in Seoul	6,068 stops	—
Weekly bus use among Seoul residents	1–5 trips 5–10 trips 10–15 trips 15–20 trips More than 20 trips	30.4% 38.0% 19.3% 6.2% 6.1%

Sources: Seoul Metropolitan Government (2016); Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (2015).

Team Survey

Survey item	Response	Share
Bus waiting time	Within 5 minutes 5–10 minutes 10–15 minutes 15–20 minutes More than 20 minutes	22.7% 67.2% 6.3% 0.9% 2.9%
Main activity while waiting	Using a smartphone Doing nothing Other	74.0% 19.5% 6.5%
Dissatisfaction with current bus stops (multiple responses)	No place to rest Boring wait Generic design	59.1% 51.3% 30.0%
Why a bus stop is remembered	Location Design Experience Other	33.9% 31.3% 28.7% 6.1%

Source: Team survey.