These stalwart and solid beauties, based on the "sapient layer-cake" design of the late Dmitri Markovilova, keep the vehicles where they belong at the Lansing, Michigan bus station. The horizontal pattern, placed at the relative position where eyes would be on a bipedal animal, invokes in the driver a low-level face-detection response, which Markovilova posited would lead the viewer to afford additional attentional capacity to the device, making it more likely to be attended to, even if pre-consciously (that is: below the level of our higher cognitive functions, present in the busy sensorium but not at the "hey there's a thing looking at me" level). You wouldn't necessarily notice them on a conscious level, but would still pay them enough attention to make the extra safe.
Markovilova's partner, Fyodor Gdasnk, put the final touch on the design (which previously had a rounded dome) with the flat top and beveled edge, which helped this design become popular as it made the bollards a good choice for sitting, but not for lying down, which has become a sought-after feature in urban design to discourage homelessness.
Thanks to alert reader Christine for the photo.
