JRM2 02 - 06 - 2010

My hometown site is located in Indianapolis at the interesection of Allisonville and 62nd Street. The site was chosen because of its proximity to the Nickel Plate Railroad. This site would be heavily considered for a train stop if an interurban light rail were connected to downtown Indianapolis with Fishers and Carmel via the Nickel Plate Line. The site is mostly parking lot for Big Lots. It also has some small local shops like a coffe bean store and popular pizza restaurant. The train station is a popular function for the hometwon projects because Indiana had many railroad lines where citeis sprung up along the line. Since WT4 is traveling so much by rail during the trip it is a topic seen very often. My project deals with a smaller scale of train station. A stop on a metro or subway is the most similar to the scope of my project. Larger stations that connect large cities or long distances are much larger and would be located in downtown Indianapolis where a light rail train might connect to get on the Nickel Plate Line. The TGV (translates to Big Fast Train) station in Avignon has been the finest example of a smaller stop on a train line. The station in Avignon includes shops, restaurants, and interior waiting space. This is similar to the program I have chosen for my site. The station is set up so that people exiting the train are closest to the parking and bus pickup. The other side of the station is for those waiting for trains to arrive. This area is bigger and has a large space for waiting and viewing the trains and people. The food area is located underneath the tracks so that it is accessible from those entering and leaving the station. Display of information is critical for users so that they can enter the building if they are in a rush to get on a train and also be able to get all of the information they need in a few seconds. Inside the waiting side, there are flagpoles with large clocks, signage/directions, and TV screens with train arrivals and departures. The waiting space is designed as a slight curve with a long ramp to get to the platform. This elongated space is punctuated by the repeating structure and is further emphasized by the diminishing structure at both ends to seem like it is even longer. The slight curve makes it so you cannot see from one end to another. It makes the station more interesting and prevents it from being a large open hallway. The station also seemed to be trying to use sustainable techniques by its material choices, the form of the waiting space, and the orientation and reflective dots in the glass. I think that the Avignon TGV station was a great discovery by those who took the time to go out and see it because it has turned out to be the most helpful precedent so far for a successful train stop. I have not yet gotten into the concrete design of my train station on the site but I can tell that the Avignon station will have an impact on my design

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