May_1971 — Page 33

speeds of 45 miles in the hour.

To persuade people to use - and go on using these promising vehicles the architects over a dozen of them - commissioned to design the stations were told: 'Whenever the project archi- tect must decide between alternatives. the basic criterion should be the wel- fare of the passenger,' with the thoughtful rider '... within the limits of the budget'. The framework within which the architects were to realise this objective was established by the civil engineering of the system (e.g. elevated or underground stations, standardised structural components, etc.) and a set of architectural stand- ards.

These standards, while prepared by the principle consultants (Parsons Brinckerhof, Tudor, Bechtel) are in reality anonymous, reflecting the in- numerable policy decisions - many of them inevitably political in nature during the shaking-down of ideals, rea- lities and interests in the matrix of the given time and place.

-

Take road-vehicle access at sta- tions, for example. The facts of Ameri- can life are recognised in the massive provision for car-parking that is gen- erally provided. Political shrewdness is apparent in the decision that parking

15 ft 6 ins

+

-66 ft.

Glass

Fluorescent fixtures

Steel purlins, beams and girder

LL

Suspended aluminium CLG. with recessed fluorescent fixtures

Far East BUILDER, May 1971

10 ft

9 ft 5 ing

13 ft 10 ins

Model of Mission Street Station at mezzanine level. This station, on the underground por- tion of BART below central San Francisco, is by Hertzka & Knowles

shall be free to users of the BART system. Idealism gained a victory when preference was accorded to passengers arriving by bus and by foot.

Multi-acre parking

Specifically, the standards state that 'Bus drop-off and loading areas should, where possible, directly adjoin the main station entrances and be lo- cated under the aerial structure to pro- vide protection from the weather. Where possible, these activities should take place on a separate circulation

Utility Tunnel

::

57 ft

Street

Escalator

Tar & gravel roofing over insulation over metal decking Aluminium panel & glass windscreen

Varies

EOEDERSEN

... "

Mezzanine

Platform

Above: Typical section through underground station (Berkeley)

Left: Section through circulat- ing areas at Hayward Station above ground (Wurster Ber- nardi & Emmons)

roadway.

'Pedestrians, bicycles and scooters approaching the station structure should be able to reach the main en- trance by a relatively direct and safe route. Parking for these two-wheeled vehicles should be provided in a shel- tered area adjacent to the main en- trance.

'All parking areas should be broken into sections of approximately one acre (my italics) by landscaping and walkways, or both.*

Initially, the concessions made to the handicapped were rather sad. In fact, the only mention in the standards was a brief note to the effect that 'Normal circulation throughout the BART System should be planned so that handicapped patrons, except those in wheelchairs, can move easily to their destination. Consideration should be given to the judicious place- ment of railings, and the use of tex- tures, light, sound and colour to ac- complish this objective'.

Who'd be a ticket clerk?

The job of the station agent could be pretty hellish. He more than any- one will be able to assess the degree to which the design and signing of the station have been successful in terms of facilitating the transfer of people between two modes of transport with- out depriving them of their indivi- duality or otherwise generating aggres- sive feelings.

The architectural standards suggest that architectural elements, landscap- ing and other design features could be employed to identify entrances, exits and other routes, but it cannot be said that the available station sketches show much imagination in this respect.

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