Urban Connection

Train stations are often considered monumental structures reflecting the industrial revolution’s historical prosperity and technological progress. However, stations today are rapidly being adapted to the modernity of the twenty-first century, with high-speed, intercity train service developing within urban hubs; sometimes linking separated areas of the cities, they bring sustainable transportation solutions to fast-growing populations.

After World War II, the United States government began constructing the federal highway system and running through downtown areas; they became considered evacuation routes. The infrastructural shift from public transportation to the development of roadways resulted in private vehicles dominating American culture. In addition, land use and zoning restrictions dramatically changed the urban design of the cities. As a result, most urban centers have spread out to accommodate population growth, creating isolated suburban communities that are impossible to navigate except by car.

We are seeing the results of those infrastructural design decisions today. The hegemony of the automobile and the expansion of developed land has environmental impacts, contributing to the carbon footprint and destroying natural habitats. When most cities have outdated public transit systems, the question must be asked: How can architecture improve the quality of public transportation, benefit the communities connecting people and cities, and encourage citizens to incorporate the daily use of transit networks? This thesis seizes the opportunity to rethink train station typology, design a public infrastructure without interfering with urban continuity, and bring an architectural element that unites the city and links the civic with the social.