Transit projects

Train stations and public transportation in general have been a continuing interest. The magnificent structures of the nineteenth century have rarely been matched although London’s Jubilee Line and more recently, the Elizabeth Line have reflected a wonderful collaboration of architects and engineers and are markers of civic pride. The new Grand Paris Express is another case in point. It is only rarely in the US that one sees such commitment to excellence in the realm of public infrastructure. There are two projects recorded here. A third, the revitalisation of North Station in Boston, does not merit presentation.

Tren Urbano, San Juan, Puerto Rico

This project is an example of what not to do. In 1996, building on Wallace Floyd’s familiarity with and expertise in designing transit stations, we pursued a contract for the design of two stations in the new Tren Urbano transit system in San Juan. As part of the submission we prepared schematic design drawings for two stations, Lorrimar and Las Lomas, and later, for Bayamón and Complejo Deportivo. While our team won the contract for the first two stations, the architecture was only a very small part of the bid which was mainly for rolling stock, track and communications, operations and construction management. The team was led by Siemens with Perini as construction managers. The design and construction of our two stations was led by the contractor Redondo, with Guillermety Ortiz Ingenieros as engineering sub consultants. Below them was the local team SCF Arquitectos with Wallace Floyd as the out of town architects. In short we were right at the bottom of the food chain. The client representative tried (unsuccessfully) to get us off the team in the first place; the design was completely taken over by the local team and Redondo always came up short in paying our invoices. I am glad to say that the CEO of Redondo ended up in jail for corruption.

MBTA Light Rail Accessibility Program

In the 1990’s the MBTA in Boston was under indictment to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Wallace Floyd won the contract for regrading stations on each of the four routes on the Green Line, including landscape and shelters. Again, this project was weighed down with administration and should have been led by an engineering firm. The only real architecture we got out of this was the design of the station shelters.

Compromises had to be made. The client wanted full glazing subdivided in panes (not too bad as it turns out); the client also wanted each line to have a different shelter design. The ones on the Commonwealth Avenue ‘B’ Line are my favourites.