Architecture of the rail : exploring the potential of urban infrastructure

Abstract

This thesis is the pursuit of a sensitivity for the relationship between urban infrastructure and architectural form, an attempt to restore a quality of "publicness" in the urban landscape through the implementation of a transit structure. It is the investigation of the physical qualities which could potentially incorporate rail structures as useful elements in the city fabric. Approaching the rail structure as an architectural element which will serve as a framework for the existing and potential city. The intent of the proposal is to challenge the notion of the transit line as a solely technical feat; works of public infrastructure hold a potential to greatly affect our cities and our lives far beyond their expected utility. I suggest an alternative study of the possibilities and effects of these structures as architectural artifact in the urban context and explore the ability for transit systems to act as participants in the life of the city.