Union Station Bus Pavilions
Washington, DC
Washington DC’s intercity transportation hub and bus transit center is centrally located next to the majestic Beaux Arts masterpiece Union Station, – which is home to Amtrak’s second-busiest railroad station in DC, serving a 5 million annual ridership. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture was asked to design a solution that would provide amenities to the bus traveler without requiring them to leave the bus deck – achieving shelter, waiting, amenities and wayfinding for passengers.
Awards | Press
2018 AIA DC Honorable Mention in Civic Architecture
2014 AIA VA Award for Excellence in Architecture
2014 ABC of DC Excellence in Construction Award
2014 Washington Post Express
2014 CODAmagazine
2014 Composites and Architecture Blog
2014 Elevation DC
2013 Composites World December
All photos copyright Hoachlander Davis Photography
The new bus transit center is comprised of three pavilions; ticketing/shopping, meditation porch, and restrooms. The main pavilion serves as a metaphor of a Zen rock garden – which provides ticketing and shopping – is comprised of two ovoid shapes formed from two natural, ovoid shapes, merged together to create a complex geometry. The second pavilion- the rock garden’s pochi, or meditation porch, over-looks the neighboring arrangement and serves as a waiting space. And the last pavilion contains restrooms made from recycled shipping containers serving as armatures for a discreet comfort station.
