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GO Transit: Union Station Shed Replacement & Track Upgrades (Zeidler)

Too bad the budget wasn't big enough to extend the glass atrium the entire length of the shed!
 
hawc said:
That shed is a a priceless piece of Toronto history. It would be a travesty to tear it down and extend the glass atrium the entire length.
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The Toronto sewer system is a priceless piece of Toronto history as well.

A full glass atrium would be cool. I'll have to reserve judgement on what the whole thing looks like when it's finished. Before they started, the trainshed was way too dark and dingy, and didn't bring near enough natural light down.
 
nfitz said:
A full glass atrium would be cool. I'll have to reserve judgement on what the whole thing looks like when it's finished. Before they started, the trainshed was way too dark and dingy, and didn't bring near enough natural light down.
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This was my qualm with it too. I understand history etc. but I believe that's why we have Union Station itself. The shed diminished the continuing enjoyment and use of Union Station as a whole.
 
hawc said:
That shed is a a priceless piece of Toronto history. It would be a travesty to tear it down and extend the glass atrium the entire length.
Click to expand...

I completely agree that this city needs to preserve its architectural history, but I think we could have gone bigger and bolder in this instance. Think Waterloo and Kings Cross station in London. These are fine examples of preserving the past while incorporating modern design. Even Melbourne's Southern Cross Station is spectacular!
 
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MCDM said:
I completely agree that this city needs to preserve its architectural history, but I think we could have gone bigger and bolder in this instance. Think Waterloo and Kings Cross station in London. These are fine examples of preserving the past while incorporating modern design. Even Melbourne's Southern Cross Station is spectacular!
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I'm pretty sure hawc was being sarcastic. Even if not, a solution might have been to rebuild the bush shed as it was originally envisioned: with a glass roof.
 
It's been great seeing the sun on the platform this year, and I'm not looking forward to the roof going back up on the old portions of the shed! Unless you're standing right under the new glass section, there won't be much light. Hopefully there'll at least be strong LED lighting so it won't be quite as gloomy as it was before.
 

Union Station Revitalization by MafaldaBoy, on Flickr

So - with apologies if this has been answered a zillion times - are they going to remove the old steelwork from the original trainshed beneath the new roof? Or does it stay? Also, what about the ugly little Via huts, which look like some po-mo reinterpretation of Quebec village life, stuck in a time warp from 1989?
 
Sir Novelty Fashion said:
So - with apologies if this has been answered a zillion times - are they going to remove the old steelwork from the original trainshed beneath the new roof? Or does it stay? Also, what about the ugly little Via huts, which look like some po-mo reinterpretation of Quebec village life, stuck in a time warp from 1989?
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Yes they are removing all those things eventually. The reason those things are still there is because those platforms haven't been taken out of service which is when they get new platform cement, new track grading, new low lying glass stairwells, new track signal mounts, etc. The junk from the old shed should be removed completely on the southern most tracks which were the first to be completely out of service.
 
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