Krumbach has the most fashionable bus stops in the world (PHOTOS)

Posted by Rapti Gupta on May 22, 2014 04:40 AM EDT

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Taking a bus ride may not always be comfortable, but these bus stops will make you want to ditch you car or bike for the public transport.

The little Austrian town of Krumbach invited seven architects to design bus stops and the result is marvelous. The town probably has the most fashionable and wacky bus stops in the whole wide world right now.

The "Bus:Stop" project was commissioned by Krumbach's cultural association, through which it wanted to boost tourism in the city. Seven architects from various countries like Spain, Belgium, Chile and Japan were invited to showcase their talents and were offered a vacation in the town instead of their fees! Funds for the projects came from private sponsors.

On its official website, the association writes:

"As a famous architecture country (30,000 tourists come every year simply because of our building culture), we want to help shape the international exchange."

"The aim of this project is to link design achievements of international architecture with the know-how and skills of local handcraft-based businesses in the Bregenzerwald," explained the project organisers. "This is made possible by involving regional architects as a kind of mediator between 'foreign' creative work and the abilities of our craftspeople," project organizers told Dezeen.

The architects worked for a year on the bus stops that opened this month. An exhibition featuring the bus stop pictures will be held at the Vorarlberg Architecture Institute.

Check out the bus stops below: (List courtesy: The Atlantic; Picture courtesy: Dezeen)

Sou Fujimoto, Japan: "Everyone may climb the tower-like bus stop to enjoy panoramic views of Krumbach. A transparent forest of columns can create interesting scenery in a site surrounded by nature."

Smiljan Radic, Chile: "Urban exteriors seem to be the natural extension of small, protected interior spaces. Zwing BUS:STOP seeks to express this domesticity."

Ensamble Studio, Spain: "Ensamble Studio's BUS:STOP for Krumbach explores the appropriation of a local technique used to stack wood planks in the drying barns in the region."

Architekten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu, Belgium: "How it is possible that a simple idea of a roof originates from a constantly re-occurring vision of a Sol LeWitt drawing..."

RintalaEggertsson Architects, Norway: "The structure becomes the sum of these viewing activities, a gathering and organization of paths of attention."

Amateur Architecture Studio, China: "It is like a 120 SLR folding camera that people can sit in."

Alexander Brodsky, Russia: "We tried to design a typical Krumbach bus stop."