DC Metro 2050:
More Lines, More Transfer Stations, More Urban Nodes.
Other movement systems in downtown DC:
Precedents of underground network:
Montreal Underground City
OMA tram tunnel
Showing posts with label DC Metro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Metro. Show all posts
Saturday, January 17, 2009
updates #1
It's been a while after my last post. Here are some updates.
DC Metro 2050:
More Lines, More Transfer Stations, More Urban Nodes.
Other movement systems in downtown DC:
Precedents of underground network:
Montreal Underground City
OMA tram tunnel
DC Metro 2050:
More Lines, More Transfer Stations, More Urban Nodes.
Other movement systems in downtown DC:
Precedents of underground network:
Montreal Underground City
OMA tram tunnel
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Metro System: Past, Now & Future
A diagram showing the chronological development of the Metro system.
Existing and planned railway systems.
Imagining the potentials that the separated Blue Line could create for the city of Washington.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Metro Systems Statistics
Riderships comparison between major metro systems in the world.
Most of the world's busiest metro system has 8 to 13 lines.
London Underground, the world's first metro system, has the longest subway network in the world.
New York Subway has the highest number of stations among the world metro systems. The difference between the two bars are the number of transfers in each system.
DC Metro possesses longest average line length of 21.4 mile per line in this comparison.
The average distance between stations of DC Metro system is 2km (1.25 mi), which means some areas between two consecutive stations are not covered by a half-mile radius.
This chart shows how many transfer in the system. High number means more interconnections between lines and the system is more web-like.
This chart shows how many transfer in the system. High number means more interconnections between lines and the system is more web-like.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Site Issues
As I am still struggling with the site for my design proposal, I want to sort out some thoughts by this post.
1) Not a prototype
My thesis will debate for a localized station design versus a unify architectural theme. The intention is to tie the design of the station with the urban, socio-cultural and economic context of the neighborhood. Since each neighborhood has its own character, the design on different site will be different to reflect local needs and characters. I believe Metro station is a neighborhood center, which plays important role in shaping the image of the neighborhood.
2) Limitations in renovating existing underground stations
As I said in previous post, the concrete vaults of the existing underground stations create a strong image for the Metro system as well as the city, which I think it should be preserved unless with strong reasons. And technically, it is also challenging to renovate the underground station without disturbing the train operation and to justify the cost.
Yet I think it is still possible for me to have a site as existing underground station. I imagine it may be an existing station that intersects with a new line in the future. It would be interesting to see how the two come together if the two lines do not share track.
3) Strategic and important location
My thesis argues that strategic and important location of the stations will help justifying the need to consider metro stations to be more than infrastructure. For instance, a gateway to the city, stations along major axises of the city or memorial sites, terminal stations, key intersections of metro lines or intermodal stations are all potential sites for the thesis proposal.
1) Not a prototype
My thesis will debate for a localized station design versus a unify architectural theme. The intention is to tie the design of the station with the urban, socio-cultural and economic context of the neighborhood. Since each neighborhood has its own character, the design on different site will be different to reflect local needs and characters. I believe Metro station is a neighborhood center, which plays important role in shaping the image of the neighborhood.
2) Limitations in renovating existing underground stations
As I said in previous post, the concrete vaults of the existing underground stations create a strong image for the Metro system as well as the city, which I think it should be preserved unless with strong reasons. And technically, it is also challenging to renovate the underground station without disturbing the train operation and to justify the cost.
Yet I think it is still possible for me to have a site as existing underground station. I imagine it may be an existing station that intersects with a new line in the future. It would be interesting to see how the two come together if the two lines do not share track.
3) Strategic and important location
My thesis argues that strategic and important location of the stations will help justifying the need to consider metro stations to be more than infrastructure. For instance, a gateway to the city, stations along major axises of the city or memorial sites, terminal stations, key intersections of metro lines or intermodal stations are all potential sites for the thesis proposal.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Existing DC Metro Stations
Entrance of Existing Metro stations.
Platform of Existing Metro Stations.
The image above shows the platform conditions some existing stations. Despite of their gloomy interior, the concrete vaults, coffers or arches provide a unifying theme for the 46 underground stations. These vaults are impressive and have created an unique atmosphere to welcome the train. They are signatures of DC Metro that really capture DC newcomers' eyes.
Although my thesis wants to argue that the architecture of the stations are currently lacking a relationship with the neighborhood context, I still think that unless I have really strong reasons, ie. not just from architectural point of view, the existing character of vault should be kept.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Metro Map (To Scale)
This map is created to understand how the Metro stations spread in DC Metropolitan area.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
2030 DC Metro Plan
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/images/200805/2030forwmatalarge.png
This map summarized the system expansion plans and other improvement studies of WMATA.
The site of my thesis will be probably selected from the existing / improved / future stations shown in this map.
This map summarized the system expansion plans and other improvement studies of WMATA.
The site of my thesis will be probably selected from the existing / improved / future stations shown in this map.
Monday, July 28, 2008
DC Metro and Hong Kong MTR
I left Hong Kong 4 years ago and have been living and working in Washington DC Metro area since then. I work in Arlington, Virginia while living in Silver Spring, Maryland. Therefore, DC Metro has become part of my life. It gives me very different experiences in comparing with Hong Kong MTR. To list some of those:
- Train schedule
Metro's train schedule is not as frequent as MTR. A Metro train comes every 4-6 mins in rush hour and 15-20 mins for non-rush hour and weekend. In Hong Kong, most of the trains come in 2-3 mins, and not more than 10 mins. In DC, I feel like I am discouraged to use Metro in non-rush hour and weekend.
- Delay
I travel with Metro usually at 7:30-9am and 6-7:30pm through red and orange line. In my limited experience, sometimes I still feel like Metro has delays every other day. Just one single mechanical error can cause 45mins delay for the whole line. While living in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, I probably can count the number of delays with my two hands.
- Car Environment
I think one good thing about Metro is that the seats are more comfortable than Hong Kong MTR. I can have a pretty pleasant trip with my readings if the car is not too crowd. However, there are few cars that are poorly ventilated, stank, and sometimes with lights off.
- Station
The station is another big different. In Hong Kong, most of the stations are air-conditioned and have security screen wall between the track and the platform. There are extensive underground networks linking the underground stations with shopping malls and major landmarks. And the ground stations are prominent buildings and are incorporated with housing developments.
- Cell Phone network
I don't like people talking on their phone too loud near me especially when I am tired after a day of hard work. However, getting no signal at the underground portion of Metro is very inconvenient and sometimes frustuating. It is never an issue in Hong Kong where I take such service for granted. But I am glad that thing might change in the future.
Overall, I see there are a lot of rooms for improvement in the current Metro system. To me, reducing, if not solving, the delay problem as well as providing more-frequent service are at the top of the list.
My thesis is drvien by rethinking the role and design of metro station in the hope of building a better Metro system for the national capital.
- Train schedule
Metro's train schedule is not as frequent as MTR. A Metro train comes every 4-6 mins in rush hour and 15-20 mins for non-rush hour and weekend. In Hong Kong, most of the trains come in 2-3 mins, and not more than 10 mins. In DC, I feel like I am discouraged to use Metro in non-rush hour and weekend.
- Delay
I travel with Metro usually at 7:30-9am and 6-7:30pm through red and orange line. In my limited experience, sometimes I still feel like Metro has delays every other day. Just one single mechanical error can cause 45mins delay for the whole line. While living in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, I probably can count the number of delays with my two hands.
- Car Environment
I think one good thing about Metro is that the seats are more comfortable than Hong Kong MTR. I can have a pretty pleasant trip with my readings if the car is not too crowd. However, there are few cars that are poorly ventilated, stank, and sometimes with lights off.
- Station
The station is another big different. In Hong Kong, most of the stations are air-conditioned and have security screen wall between the track and the platform. There are extensive underground networks linking the underground stations with shopping malls and major landmarks. And the ground stations are prominent buildings and are incorporated with housing developments.
- Cell Phone network
I don't like people talking on their phone too loud near me especially when I am tired after a day of hard work. However, getting no signal at the underground portion of Metro is very inconvenient and sometimes frustuating. It is never an issue in Hong Kong where I take such service for granted. But I am glad that thing might change in the future.
Overall, I see there are a lot of rooms for improvement in the current Metro system. To me, reducing, if not solving, the delay problem as well as providing more-frequent service are at the top of the list.
My thesis is drvien by rethinking the role and design of metro station in the hope of building a better Metro system for the national capital.
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