We were tasked to create a train station for the proposed Texas Central High-Speed Rail which was planned to have a stop at Waller, TX. It was proposed to move the station next to PVAMU as it provides a better location for travelers to hop on or off due to proximity to the school & amenities. The student body can use the train to traverse to Dallas or Houston with ease to allow commuting to the school from these locations faster than currently available. This is a typical project for the Undergrad studios. This was something I had never done even during my undergrad so it was fun to get my hands dirty doing this.

Some main considerations of the project was there would be two tracks, one going North and one going South, with both of them being accessible on their respective platforms. Another point of interest was the platform being 35′ above ground level.

This was a group project at first but when that didn’t work out, the professor felt it would be best if we all went our own separate ways, which is a shame.

First we had to get a general concept of that and since this was supposed to start off as a sustainable project we were given a case study to use for our design. Mine was the Japan Rail [JR] Onagawa Station done by Shigeru Ban. He used wood in a latticework and wooden tubes to present a wave form. I knew I wanted to use these aspect in my project but had yet to come up with an idea.

After doodling a while and having a few ideas of inspiration, I was driving home one day and noticed a Mesilla Valley Transportation [MVT] truck and the logo stuck out to me that it could potentially be a jumping off point. It would give me the idea for the project to go underneath the track and pop back up on the other side.

I had finally settled on what the general plan would look like. Now was the problem of trying to come up with a unique profile that would be interesting to people coming to used Texas’s first high speed rail. It had to be something that would catch they eye of any onlooker.

I started to implement Ban-san’s wooden tube work to the exterior of the building while utilizing the waves he put in his station. I felt this could be a nice way to incorporate shading devices to naturally cool the building during the hot months. I also used the waves on the roof to give fluidity of the building.

Now that the exterior and plan of the building was complete, I could start working on the fun parts such as lighting, finishes, plans, etc. The program for the project was pretty sparse, but for me I knew I wanted to include:

• Underground shopping
• Sundial
• Walking park
• Water feature
• Offices/Administration
• Restaurants

It wasn’t until I was designing the finishes and doing the rendering when I feel I really hit my stride on the uniqueness of the project. I noticed when I was doing the lobby that there was a ton of light coming in and that I had floor to ceiling windows on it with no help. I tried to tint them but I didn’t want the light to be diminished. I don’t know how I found it but I decided to put thin black mesh on aluminum squares at a diagonal portion in the shape of an traditional railroad crossing sign, an X.

While also working on the interior, when working on the elevator, I noticed I had an empty space I could do something fun with. Being a child of the 80s I have a huge nostalgia for neon lighting. I wanted to do something with it so I figured why not have a way of tracking the location of the train[s] with light. The location was perfect so I included that.

The underground shopping area was also a place where I could have fun with so I included more neon lights as well as the same wire mesh shapes. Also was a polished 8′ x 8′ white tile juxtaposed with circular carpet patterns.

Project Information:

PVAMU Train Station

Fall 2022