HOK And PAU Present The Newest Plans For The Penn Station Redevelopment
HOK and PAU present the newest plans for the Penn Station redevelopment. After years of delays, American design firms HOK and Practice for design and Urbanism have revealed renderings of fresh proposals to rebuild Manhattan's iconic Penn Station.
George EvansJun 30, 20232910 Shares193974 Views
HOK and PAU present the newest plansfor the Penn Station redevelopment. After years of delays, American design firms HOK and Practice for design and Urbanism have revealed renderings of fresh proposals to rebuild Manhattan's iconic Penn Station.
The studios' work on the transportation hub for developer ASTM North America comprises a new entry on Eighth Avenue and the refurbishment of existing structures.
The concepts for the project, which would rehabilitate existing structures without destroying or adding to the surrounding infrastructure, have been unveiled by HOK and the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU).
“„ASTM's plan will solve the litany of issues that have long plagued Penn Station and is the full realization of [New York] Governor Hochul's own vision.- Pat Foye, CEO of ASTM North America
HOK and PAU have adopted a more subdued strategy in comparison to previous incarnations of the long-stalled project, which called for the dismantling of the Madison Square Garden arena and the construction of skyscrapers in its place.
Penn Station is situated just below Madison Square Garden. According to the plans developed by HOK and PAU, the exterior of the arena will be covered with a stone facade that is designed to resemble that of Moynihan Train Hall, which is located directly across the street.
In 2021, the former post office, which was built in 1913 and designed by the architects who worked on Penn Station, McKim, Mead & White, was transformed by SOM into an extension of the station.
HOK and PAU have decided to create a glass box adjacent to Madison Square Garden that would serve as the exit for seventy percent of the passengers exiting the station. This decision was made in order to address the dimly lit and confusing departure paths that are present as a result of the current design.
According to the plan, the number of staircases, elevators, and escalators at the station will be increased from 91 to 120, providing access to the 21 different tracks.
“„Our proposal envisions two main train halls – a soaring Eighth Avenue entrance and a light-filled mid-block hall – that together will restore the civic gravitas that has been absent since the 1963 demolition of McKim, Mead & White's original edifice,- Vishaan Chakrabarti
Vishaan also added:
“„Our new stone facade mirrors and reinterprets McKim's masonry colonnade across Eighth Avenue at Moynihan Station, creating a great public outdoor room that brings the historical in conversation with the contemporary, all while prioritizing light and air, an improved public realm, a great mix of civic uses, and compatibility with planned rail and neighborhood growth.- Vishaan Chakrabarti
The station will have glass ceilings and skylights to bring light into the hub's lower levels, which will be mainly subterranean. The proposal's costs are now anticipated to be about $6 billion (£4.7 billion), with a six-year implementation period if approved.
The new proposal comes after decades of delays. The New York Times reported earlier this week that New York State Governor Kathy Hochul had fired long-time development partner Vornado Realty Trust from the project, thereby killing plans for an office tower building.
ASTM stated that it worked with local elected officials for months to develop a proposal, and that it believes the current one will build on the State's existing plans for a new light-filled and airy midblock train hall between 31st and 33rd streets, as well as improve subway passenger connectivity from Seventh Avenue.
Political and environmental studies have long hampered the process for the nation's busiest rail transportation hub, since a number of stakeholders, including Amtrak and local and state governments in New York and New Jersey, have a stake in the project's success.
ASTM has agreed to contribute upfront funding to "jump start" the project and has stated that it would incur cost overruns and accept responsibility for station maintenance to prevent "financial risk to taxpayers."
Final Words
HOK has already worked on plans to modernize the station, while PAU has recently secured several high-profile civic projects, including a contract to remodel many of the country's aging air traffic control towers.
The Moynihan Connector, which connects the High Line elevated walkway to the Moynihan Train Hall, was just finished by SOM and landscape architectural firm James Corner Field Operations.
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