People rarely smile as they scurry through Tel Aviv’s dreary Central Bus Station, a 25-million-square-foot architectural disaster casting a dark, dank and depressing shadow over South Tel Aviv. But now commuters’ faces are lighting up at the sight of some 30 “interventions” scattered about: funky plantings, plucky industrial design, “agro-poetry” billboards, urban nature photography and avant-garde artworks brightening surfaces.

All of this has been accomplished so far with zero funding by the Onya Collective of young eco-conscious visionaries working in cooperation with the Tel Aviv New Bus Station Management Company, Dan Public Transportation, the municipality, ecological NGOs and Israeli industries. The Onya Collective began in 2014 as an outgrowth of the core members’ participation in the New York-based WorldWide Storefront urban art initiative spanning 10 cities around the world. Among 1,200 celebrants at the Next Station exhibition’s gala opening last November were many Israelis who had never set foot in the seedy station before. “They are first starting to see this place, which most people avoid, as relevant and interesting,” says Onya founding member Robert Ungar. “Since the opening, we’ve had hundreds come for organized tours and urban gardening workshops in cooperation with Tel Aviv University and the Ministry of Agriculture, and for arts events.”

On the seventh floor, donated industrial waste materials including pink PVC pipes, wooden pallets and plastic paint buckets have been upcycled into a seating area, the Vertical Tea Garden. The watering system for the aromatic herbs was designed by experts from drip-irrigation pioneer Netafim, using wastewater from the station’s air-conditioning system. The Book Station, formerly a foul-smelling corner frequented by stray cats and vagrants, is now a free lending library holding books and periodicals in 12 languages along with castoff tables and chairs from Tel Aviv schools. (via Israel21c)

[Photo: onya collective / YouTube ]