graft architects: 'chicago union station'

chicago union station by graft, 2008
image © graft architects

'chicago union station' by german architectural firm graft
will treat the user group as two: the traveler and the inhabitant.
the traveler has a destination, a purpose, a need to get through the process
as efficiently as possible. the penetration into the site will be minimal; the tickets purchased
en route, the space and time between the city and the outbound areas are optimized.
the personal vehicle becomes the station, the station merely an access point; a promise
to distant possibilities.

the inhabitant seeks an extended stay; the coffee shop, the sunday morning market, life anchored
to the city. the station becomes a rock jutting out of a raging river. the place of the inhabitant is at the
center of the chaos, a place to better experience the city, a place to relax, a place to watch the chaos
unfold. a space reserved for those staying, hot for those leaving.

the station serves as infrastructure for the city. it's not a singular building, a place confined by boundaries.
the interface with the city is blurred, inside and outside undefined. the building becomes a neighborhood.


image © graft architects


image © graft architects


image © graft architects


image © graft architects


image © graft architects




image © graft architects


image © graft architects

time: 2008
location: chicago, IL., U.S.A.