NEW YORK | Fulton Street Transit Center

[mrnyc]

from yesterday - looking good and really coming along now:

[NYguy]

Looking good...


JANUARY 6, 2012

[THE BIG APPLE]

One New York Place



I think there was a 1,050 foot tower proposed for this site before the Transit Center took to fruition. I'd much rather have seen a tower on this site that a boring but somewhat imaginitive Transit Center. Not much land left in Downtown. (or Midtown for that matter)

[ardecila]

Skyscrapers are boring. Downtown's filled with them. What is lacking is any kind of low-rise building newer than 50 years old.

The lowrise nature of the transit center is what makes it impressive. MTA didn't sell out to private developers and put the whole station complex in dimly-lit underground corridors, like at Penn Station or so many other sites around the city.

Should Grand Central have a skyscraper on top of it as well? Its architectural power comes from its moderate scale among giants.

[Hayward]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Skyscrapers are boring. Downtown's filled with them. What is lacking is any kind of low-rise building newer than 50 years old.

The lowrise nature of the transit center is what makes it impressive. MTA didn't sell out to private developers and put the whole station complex in dimly-lit underground corridors, like at Penn Station or so many other sites around the city.

Should Grand Central have a skyscraper on top of it as well? Its architectural power comes from its moderate scale among giants.

+1

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by THE BIG APPLE

I think there was a 1,050 foot tower proposed for this site before the Transit Center took to fruition. I'd much rather have seen a tower on this site that a boring but somewhat imaginitive Transit Center. Not much land left in Downtown. (or Midtown for that matter)

You obviously don't have to use the station, but the improvements to that major tranfer station and the visual focal point for it does far more and helps far more people than that skyscraper would. I shoud also point out that one didn't take the place of the other. Those development rights are still there, a skyscraper as tall or taller even could still be built on site.

[THE BIG APPLE]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Skyscrapers are boring. Downtown's filled with them. What is lacking is any kind of low-rise building newer than 50 years old.

The lowrise nature of the transit center is what makes it impressive. MTA didn't sell out to private developers and put the whole station complex in dimly-lit underground corridors, like at Penn Station or so many other sites around the city.

Should Grand Central have a skyscraper on top of it as well? Its architectural power comes from its moderate scale among giants.

Grand Central does have a skyscraper over it to the north (Metlife). When GCT was designed plans were for to have a building on top of it.

BTW This building is so impressive that we shouldn't have a building over it. It's OK, but comparing it to GCT in terms of having a skyscraper on top of it is ideocracy. We have plenty of free spaces in the city (Bryant, Central Parks). But in Downtown, which practically has the narrowest streets in the world other than Europe, you want to preserve space for small buildings, like this.

[KVNBKLYN]

The latest update from the MTA:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_CGu...layer_embedded" target="_blank">Video Link

[NYguy]

That's gonna be one swarming place when it opens.

[StatenIslander237]

Originally Posted by NYguy

That's gonna be one swarming place when it opens.

yeah dude, talk about a transit HUB

[J_M_Tungsten]

Today



I think this is part of too, right?

[philvia]

oh no! i havent been following this as closely as i used to, but i was still under the impression that the glass dome was in the plan.

what's the point of an elevated skylight? the visual impact of the glass dome is gone and now you'll be left feeling like you're at the bottom of a big hole.

[Hayward]

^ The cost of doing an all glass dome like that would be spectacular, particularly because the structure would require a certain aesthetic. You can see the as-built structure is pretty chunky, and exposing that wouldn't be pretty. I'm sure they saved big bucks making the dome solid.

What would help is to shoot lighting up at the dome from below...inside and outside. It will completely eliminate that nasty tunnel effect. I'm 100% sure they will do this. Right now the interior looks dark without all those finishes and lighting that are major part of this space.

I guess (the point) of doing a glass dome is it was such a major part of the design. The MTA was probably very happy with that feature, and still wanted it around, even if it went opaque. Very common that clients will like certain features of the architecture, but a material swap is sometimes required if cost becomes an issue. Not sure if that's the reason, but just saying I see that alot.

I wish there was a glass dome too. The disappointments of value of engineering.

[philvia]

yea, value engineering is a real downer. i know it's old news, but i'm still worked up over it. they cut huge corners on the element that was supposed to be the centerpiece of the building - a mistake NYC will have to live with for decades. i have a feeling it's going to be entirely underwhelming in the end.

but in response to your artificial lighting suggestion, isn't that going directly against the whole purpose of the "oculus"

[J_M_Tungsten]

Where are you getting that the glass dome is gone? The internal structure in the video still looks as though it has the supports for glass paneling. Is it possible they don't have the glass ready and the decided to cover it for the winter until its ready? That was the primary visual of this project. To not include that would be stupid.

[JSsocal]

No it's definitely aluminum panels now, but the MTA's response to this is that the inside of the dome is very reflective, and so the light that does get into the oculus will be amplified and beamed down into the terminal still giving it all that natural light despite the smaller opening to the sky.

[NYguy]

Ani Od Chai

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Also nearby...

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/110109986



By Amanda Fung

We'll have to get a thread for the dorm, construction is underway...

(Feb 17, 2012)

[NYguy]

Meanwhile, more renderings...

http://www.dnainfo.com/20120220/down...transit-center
New Renderings Show Inside of $1.4B Fulton Street Transit Center





February 20, 2012
By Julie Shapiro

New renderings offer a peek inside the future Fulton Street Transit Center.

The glistening $1.4 billion station, slated to open in June 2014, will feature glass tiles and reflective walls, suffused in natural sunlight that will filter down from a 53-foot skylight.

The renderings show straphangers gathering around a digital subway information kiosk in the center of the brand-new station, which will offer connections between 10 subway lines.

The station will have large LCD screens and scrolling messages to tell people about schedule changes and arriving trains.

The renderings also show a pedestrian passageway beneath Dey Street, opening in November, which will have a mirrored wall that will show hazy reflections of the shapes and colors of everyone who walks past it.

Workers recently installed "parasols" to reflect light down to the platforms in the Fulton Street Transit Center.

[aquablue]

From the outside, I don't like the dome. Should have been glass or kept lower, unless the height really does help the light filter in

From the inside, it appears that much of the building is a mini-mall for restaurants and retail. Most of the tracks are a walk from the actual head house.