New Miami Station Unveiled

[Ocklawaha]

Wow, that's about all that could be said about the All Aboard Florida 'station' complex unveiled in Miami yesterday. Makes one wonder what this outfit could do if we'd condense the JRTC and let them have the 8 city blocks in exchange for developing the station... This is pretty amazing.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/28/4142796/miami-orlando-train-executives.html

[finehoe]

That is cool, but "an iconic city landmark like the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge or New York's Grand Central Station" it ain't.

[Ocklawaha]

I tend to agree, this seems more function then art; in true railroad form.  IF we ever get serious about making a real and functional transportation center at Jacksonville Terminal, our would shine much brighter. As for iconic, they're not in the same league.

[thelakelander]

Kind of hard to tell from the renderings shown but it's massive enough to become an iconic feature.  Will it be on the level of Grand Central or the Golden Gate Bridge? I don't know.  I'd argue that they're on the level they are because of the cities they're in, moreso than them, themselves. Placing Grand Central in Jax would be like putting Penn Station in Jax. It becomes the Prime Osborn. Iconic on a local level but not internationally known because Jax isn't global world class city. Until Miami cracks that level (which may be possible), it won't be recognized like Grand Central.

[finehoe]

Massive or not, it looks generic.



It could easily be mistaken for an airport in some Gulf sheikdom.

[thelakelander]

Same could be said for the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridges.  Suspension bridges are all over the globe.

[Keith-N-Jax]

LOL, looks generic? Sounds like home cooking there. Looks better than anything Jax would do!!!

[simms3]

SF is building essentially the same thing right now, actually (and it keeps getting value-engineered as costs rise).  I wouldn't call SF's Transbay Terminal under construction now "iconic" like the GG Bridge is.

The Hoover Dam is still the world's most "iconic" and famous dam and it's in the middle of nowhere, yet is also nowhere near the largest anymore.

I think "iconic" comes about through representation, history, and perhaps a bit of good architecture and where the icon is located helps, but doesn't make or break the icon.

I'm not "blown away" and I'm watching essentially the same thing be constructed right now just 2 blocks from my office.  It's not anything radical and SF already beat Miami to it (Miami is just now at rendering stage...it'll be years, perhaps 2 decades, before this thing is complete).



More on "iconic" - general society determines that.  NYC had two fantastic train stations, and only one survived and became a living "icon".  The other became a symbol of lost history and still permeates people's minds.  There are buildings going up in NYC that are taller than the ES Building and are being designed by today's leading architects, but none will be "iconic" like the ES Building, which was so ahead of its time, has a record-setting construction history unmatchted today, and is an irreplaceable piece of NYC and American history that even the world feels attached to.  A terrible disaster taking down one of these new condo towers going up would be a disaster, but covered by insurance!  Nothing can replace, structurally or intangibly in our hearts a loss of the ES Building.

In SF, there are two great suspension bridges.  The Bay Bridge is much longer, arguably prettier, and connects the two main cities.  It served a much greater purpose, if we're talking function.  The GG Bridge is the only one that became iconic, because it just naturally happened that way in Americans' hearts and minds.

I don't think these modern day transit features being built more and more frequently will be iconic like Grand Central is iconic.  Most people won't even know about this thing in Miami, no offense to it.  It will be great for the city IF it gets built, but iconic?  Nah

[finehoe]

Looks better than anything Jax would do!!!

That pretty much goes without saying.  But nobody is going to look at a picture of this structure and immediately think "Miami!".

[spuwho]

I am glad they finally presented something to the public.

IMHO. The primary tower is unique but the theme doesn't seem to flow "down" to the smaller towers at all. There might have been some architectural reasons they couldnt due to being over the tracks. I need a better 360 view to determine further.

Finehoe: Not sure about any shiekdoms but it does follow several designs SOM has done for China HSR stations in the past few years.

I would love to see a related design that brings that lattice over a future Jax Terminal passenger area. Some don't dig putting the new next to the old but it can work when done right.

I hope they will have Jax in their sights by 2020.

And Ock, when this new train leaves the station, make sure you are on it this time!

[TomHurst]

I think it's a beautifully executed design...structurally expressive not unlike the Gulf Life Tower here in Jax.  I agree that the word "iconic" is overused these days and I don't know if this will live up to that term but nevertheless very nicely done. 
I think the most important attribute of this design is the way it integrates what the article calls the "hospitality" functions into the overall masterplan along with the added density of the office towers.  This has potential to be a great transit oriented hub in the middle of Miami, the benefits of which would be huge.

[finehoe]

Same could be said for the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridges.  Suspension bridges are all over the globe.

But they don't cross SF Bay all over the globe.  In that case it's their location that makes them iconoc, not the fact that they are suspension bridges.  Obviously the Miami terminal won't be the only station in the world located in the middle of a city, and there is nothing about the architecture to make it stand out otherwise, so the idea that it's destined to be "iconic" is hyperbolic at best.

But as I said earlier, it sounds like a cool project and I hope it goes according to plan.

[thelakelander]

I believe what really makes those bridges "iconic" is that they are located in a globally known world class city that's seeped in American West Coast history.  Over the years, they've become a part of the folklore and unique atmosphere/landscape of that area. I don't know what will happen in the future but give Miami time to grow up and in another few decades, many places not considered "iconic" today, could be.

[finehoe]

Here are some more renderings:  http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/28/all-aboard-florida-reveals-miami-station-renders.php

[simms3]

^^^Both bridges date to the same time as the ES Building, Hoover Dam, Chrysler Building, and other rather large public projects.  In the Depression Era, these all became symbols of progress and hope.  NYC and SF anchored their respective coasts, as well (to your point...but I don't see Miami serving that role, let alone in a similar time as the 1930s).

The Bay Bridge is not nearly as iconic as the GG Bridge, and it's the bridge that's actually in the city.  The GG Bridge is far removed and crosses into mountainous sparsely populated (especially at the time) Marin County.  Its setting is not as much City of San Francisco as it is the topography around it, which I think helps it become more iconic, actually (Marin headlands is where most pics are taken...I had a chance encounter with someone I knew visiting from NYC there, we literally ran into each other...so it's the big draw).

Also, as you say, there are lots of suspension bridges.  I think the Bay Bridge is perhaps "prettier" in person, but NO suspension bridge to this day even looks like the GG Bridge, and it is still one of the longest spans in the world, despite being so old and despite their being well over 100 significant suspension spans at this point.

Its construction as a public works project (like the Bay Bridge) has bearing on its status as an icon.  Its construction history is also as unique and interesting as that of the ES Building, which is a record holder still to this day.

ES Building became the tallest building in the world (until the 1970s) and the GG Bridge became the longest span in the world (until the 1960s), so each was a world record holder (AAF in Miami won't be holding any records).

I think a lot more goes into becoming a true "icon" than the city in which it's located, though city can't hurt.  Miami is already known as a party/fun place with pretty people and lots of Latinos.  South Beach (and the beach, the Art Deco hotels, the clubs, etc) itself is pretty iconic and reflects Miami very well.  Most people in America could probably identify a scene of South Beach as well as they can identify the GG Bridge or ES Building.

I don't foresee Miami somehow becoming a city more like New York or San Francisco, where large public works projects tied to economic cycles become icons, or stuff related to transportation becomes iconic.  Miami's not known for being a leading city in the way most cities are thought of.  It will take a few generations of reversal before its title as a party capital like Las Vegas can be shaken, and its title as a global iconic city of commerce can be created instead.  Icons related to corporate success stories (Chrysler Building), public works (Hoover Dam), transportation (GG Bridge), government (the White House), or history (Statue of Liberty or Liberty Bell) will never be a major thing in Miami.


Also, anyone can look it up, but the Transbay Terminal, which is already under construction now, looks pretty similar to this, if not "better".  It's designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, who also designed the Salesforce Tower (1,070 ft) under construction adjacent to it.

http://pcparch.com/project/transbay-transit-center-and-tower

http://www.youtube.com/v/PU8EDAlfjNk?version=3&amp

Between the two, I would think TB Terminal has a higher chance of becoming iconic than the one in Miami, and yet I think neither will be iconic.  These things are just impossible to do well/right in our modern times.  Funding for the $2B Terminal here in SF (and that excludes HSR and Caltrain extension connections into the terminal...that's just the structure) is very difficult to find.  People aren't as enthused about these kinds of projects anymore.  Even here in CA, there is a large segment of the population trying to derail HSR.  Finding political ability and public financing for extending Caltrain into the new station is proving all but impossible.  These are unnecessary roadblocks that weren't present in 1930s America when people actually looked to the government to find projects to put people to work.




Going back to Nude Beaches, there is one called Baker Beach below the GG bridge.  It is family friendly and a cool place for locals to sunbathe (IF there is sun) or walk around.  It is not a "main" beach, though, and is part of federally protected land (the Presidio).  90% of the nude sunbathers are >50 years old, and probably 70+% are men.  Just FYI