Architecture has the profound responsibility of defining place, Helsinki Central Station Helsingin Päärautatieasema while simultaneously being defined by the place it inhabits. Helsinki, Finland Through creative thought, comprehensive research, and logical Eliel Saarinen analysis, the architect is able to explore ideas, develop design, and 1919 construct their intent into reality. What results is more than just a Copenhagen Central Station physical structure or a work of art; it is an experience, a feeling... a Københavns Hovedbanegård sense of place. Copenhagen, Denmark Heinrich Wenck 1911 In order to successfully encourage this sense of place, the architect Berlin Central Station must investigate and explore the site and city that they’re Hauptbahnhof contributing to. The question then becomes, how does one begin Berlin, Germany such a journey? The answer is simply... arrive. Gerkan, Marg and Partners 2006 The intent of this research proposal is to examine the sense of Groningen Central Station place promoted by the main arrival point to any great urban center: Hoofdstation the central train station. As the gateway to the urban world, it Groningen, Netherlands Izaak Gosschalk is the very first impression of the city you are about to immerse 1896 yourself into. Whether it be for a native, a visitor, or a passerby, the train station is a place of sensory overload. It provides the Rotterdam Central Station Station Rotterdam Centraal simplicity of convenience alongside complexity in grandeur, action Rotterdam, Netherlands in a place of rest, a gathering point in a place of departure, and can Benthem Crouwel Architekten / MVSA / West 8 make the most common citizen feel ennobled. It implements a 2014 sense of importance and evokes excitement to be in the here and Antwerp Central Station now. Antwerpen Centraal Antwerp, Belgium Louis Delacenserie The central train station is the heart of the metropolis, the main 1905 node of circulation that collects and disperses the city’s greatest asset, people, to and from the rest of the world. Therefore, rather Luxembourg Central Railway Station Gare Centrale de Luxembourg than looking into a single place, the proposal intends to discover Luxembourg City, Luxembourg the connectivity between multiple train stations, as a traveler Rüdell, Jüsgen, and Scheuffel would move from place to place. With this in mind, not only can 1913 one further understand the approach to each place, a greater Strasbourg Station knowledge of how senses compare, change, and contrast between Gare de Strasbourg destinations can be obtained. Strasbourg, France Johann Eduard Jacobsthal 1883 Through the informative research of central train stations, from the East Station industrial-aged to the contemporary, the architect and planner alike Gare de l’Est can form a collection of outstanding design principles and forward- Paris, France thinking planning strategies. These include, but are not limited to: François Duquesnay 1949 North Station Gare du Nord Paris, France Jacques Hittoff 1864 St. Pancras International Saint Lazarus Station London, United Kingdom Gare Saint-Lazare William H. Barlow / George G. Scott Paris, France Approach &Aesthetic Arrival Historic & CulturalStructure ReferenceLighting Program & CirculationLayout OrientationLandscape & WayfindingContext 1868 Juste Lisch 1837 King’s Cross Station Lyon Station London, United Kingdom Gare de Lyon Lewis Cubitt Paris, France 1852 Marius Toudoire This information can be applied to many other civic spaces, such 1900 as plazas, bus, maritime & airport terminals, subway stations, as Austerlitz Station well as the planned evolution of America’s high-speed inter-city rail Grand Grand Central Terminal New York, United States of America Gare d’Austerlitz network. Departing from New York - home of the world’s largest Reed & Stem / Warren & Wetmore Paris, France train station, Grand Central Terminal, and North America’s busiest 1913 Pierre-Louis Renaud (yet most unwelcoming) Pennsylvania Station - the provision Central 1840 of such insight will be obtained through the exploration of the Pennsylvania Station architectural sites listed on the right. New York, United States of America Stations McKim, Mead, and White / Charles Luckman Associates / ? 1910 / 1968 / 20??.