| Based on the actual plans for a major light railway addition for the city of Ottawa, the theoretical issues of sustainable urban planning and the integration of architecture into the existing fabric of the city, this thesis proposes a design for a light railway station. The design strategy of the station, on one hand, is triggered by visual experiences that commuters encounter along the main rail, providing the conceptual framework to tie together everyday experience, visual culture and built form. By this, the thesis stresses the importance of the narrative to create the setting for the station. On the other hand, the design strategy responds to the complex fabric of the site's immediate context, its multicultural makeup as well as its present infrastructure, which would in turn support, and be supported by, the light rail program.; This light rail station is to be constructed, with important innovations at a current and future hub in the city of Ottawa: namely, LeBreton Flats. Importantly, this project will not only encourage the use of mass transportation but will serve as a social hub and gateway to the immediate neighbourhoods. Further, the project introduces a multicultural locus for a community of local and international students. The design concepts for the rail hub will be explored using a multimedia narrative of different characters from the general public that use or rely on the transportation system. Based on the research, a complete design will be developed with the idea to create a multi-use structure, beyond the regular requirements of a train station, which will serve the needs of a vibrant community and reflect the dynamics of a changing city. As well, a concerted effort will be made to incorporate the building into the fluid and mobile context of the site, which sits at a confluence of several modes of transportation, with varied landscape and cityscape characteristics, as well as several cultural influences. |
