Architecture as a metaphor for speed and mechanical movement

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2000-12

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The world, as we know it, is getting smaller and smaller everyday. Due, in part, to the internet and technology, there are far more resources available to us than ever before. The economy is rolling and we are beginning to see unprecedented growth in the smallest of cities. Construction lines our horizons. Suburbs are sprawling out even further in our landscape, and becoming major cities in their own rights. Population growth is rising higher and higher. Unemployment is down, and people are more prosperous than ever. Paralelling with that, private automobile ownership is up too. Our cities are now becoming bogged down with bumper to bumper traffic and terrible air quality. In responce, billions of dollars are being invested in the advent of public transit. Light rail train lines, state of the art bus systems, HOV lanes, and trollies are all efforts to combat our traffic infested streets and highways. Soaring gasoline prices and, what has become known as, "road rage" have become major reasons for the attraction to public transit. Cities who have chosen to invest in these systems are now seeing unforeseen success. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is one of those transit systems that is receiving national attention. While these systems are seeing popular success, they have drawn much attention from the world of architecture, city planning, and development. Where these new transit lines are going in, the land value around them is rising enormously. So more and more ideas are being formed about their opportunities. America is widely known as home to the mega-malls, super stores, and strip shopping centers. Some may argue that these centers are ruining our contexts, and destroying the opportunity for small businesses to survive. This may be true, however, one cannot argue the added convenience of being able to get all of your shopping done in one place. Today's busy society is obsessed with speed. The mind setting today is faster is better. Compared to the intimate walks Italians make to relax in their famous piazzas, Americans are vehicle oriented and try to get to where they are going as fast as possible, and return home as fast as possible. Much to do with this is the frustrating long drives, clogged streets, and untimely traffic stops at every corner. This project is a suggestion to a possible solution to our dilemma. It promotes public transit in an attempt to relieve traffic and pollution in our cities. Thereby elliminating driving times and easing public moral. In order to further enhance public transit, I wish to explore the opportunities available to us at our transit stops. By adding onsite facilities that are often everyday errands, professional commuters will have a luxury at their disposal and an ease of mind after a long day's work. My goal is to design a facility that reacts to the different mind sets of its everyday users. I wish to dictate the speed of activities associated within my facility. Therefore: I assert, that through the use of a metaphorical abstraction of speed, arch" tecture can capture the essence of a space and its function, and thereby promote the activities and social interactions of its occupants within. Facility- A multi-modal transit center. The transit center will accompany onsite mixed use businesses. Context- Carrollton, TX. The site lies in the heart of a free trade zone at the corner of 1-35 E and Frankford Rd.

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