Grimshaw Architects and Arup Engineering designed the Fulton transportation hub in Lower Manhattan, completed in 2014. The rectangular building fits the site, with glazed facades and hefty metal structure that fits the modern face of New York and the cast-iron age of skyscrapers. But the low building is capped by a tall oculus cone that brings vast amounts of light inside with reflective tent structures and a southward orientation.
The emphasis is clearly on sunlight, as natural light becomes increasingly scarce in a city living in shadows of skyscrapers and underground transportation. This site connects nine busy subway lines, in a confluence of circulation that could easily become a mess. This hub sorts it out with a pin-wheel arrangement of stairs and escalators across three levels.
The sleek metal textures speak to transportation vehicles, along with the long strips of lighting. The interaction of this lighting and metal reflection provides an aura of movement. V-shaped columns give lightness and sturdiness, and takes the same pattern as the triangular cable structure on the $2.1 million reflector net which soars 110 ft above. It is a dramatic point of arrival and departure.
It this design appropriate, though? It is a short, squat building in the midst of tall structures. This indicates an exceptional function for the building. Is transportation exceptional? Not really. Introducing natural light to the subway experience is certainly a worthy cause, but this $1.4 billion project sacrificed valuable space and perhaps placed too much emphasis on a subservient place.
(Anthony Quintano– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
(JessyeAnne– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
(MTAPhotos– flickr/creative commons license)
