Commercial Architecture April 2019 - 16

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FEATURE

| restaurants

Ken's V I E W

Thousands Of Commuters Squashed
F

irst they restored the Great Hall at Chicago's Union

I was relieved to learn the squash court is tempo-

will ride trains? And why stop there? Why not build

Station, as reported here last month, and then they

rary, set up for The World Squash Championship. But

a squash court in the middle of a TSA checkpoint at

built a squash court in it. I'm not kidding. A four-walled,

why Union Station? Isn't it unusual for a train station to

O'Hare? On any given day those look pretty much

glass court surrounded by bleachers.

host a sporting event?

like Union Station in the midst of a system-wide sig-

I learned this rather alarming fact while reading a

Not so atypical, argued a spokesperson for Amtrak,

nal failure anyway. And airports seem to be trending

news story about yet another meltdown of the signal

which owns Union Station and was responsible for the

toward the amusement-park model already, so why

system that controls rail traffic in and out of the sta-

server fiasco. Apparently the Professional Squash As-

not? Airfields from Los Angeles to Singapore, for

tion-which this time stranded an estimated 60,000

sociation, based in the UK, has hosted similar tourna-

example, have installed elaborate media features-in

commuters throughout an entire day. Thousands were

ments in Vanderbilt Hall at New York City's Grand Cen-

addition to those tiresome TV monitors at every gate

herded into the Great Hall because of dangerous over-

tral Station (or Grand Central Terminal as some purists

(see Commercial Architecture, July 2018).

crowding in the concourses and on the platforms.

would have it). Vanderbilt Hall, which used to be the

There's no question that the restoration of the

Once in the Great Hall, it was reported they had diffi-

station's main waiting room, now is actively promoted

Great Hall is significant. Chicago architects Goettsch

culty hearing announcements-which on a good day

as an event space. Are passengers even allowed any

Partners, and particularly the design team led by

are unintelligible at best-because of the noise from

longer? Weddings, for one thing, aren't permitted, the

Leonard Koroski, FAIA, LEED, should be congratu-

the squash court.

venue's website takes pains to point out.

lated. Amtrak even deserves credit for going ahead

I say "yet another meltdown" because it predict-

Amtrak, for its part, seems quite happy with rev-

with the restoration-if not applause for other of its

ably happens several times a year. I know because

enue earned by renting out parts of Union Station to

decisions. But attention ultimately must be paid to the

I've been there for several such system collapses.

help pay the $22-million cost of restoring the Great

falling concrete and the dirty stormwater that drizzles

Usually it's blamed on frozen switches, but this time

Hall. Amtrak, by definition, seems only reluctantly

down from the plazas and office buildings constructed

it was reported that a worker "fell on a circuit board"

involved in the commuter rail business at all. Which is

on air rights above the boarding platforms. And don't

while upgrading a server. Well, at least it's a novel

perhaps why it should be no surprise that the Amtrak

forget that rat's nest of low-ceilinged, claustrophobic

excuse.

spokesman tried to explain away the lack of progress

passageways that replaced the Grand Concourse. Not

So many questions. Who upgrades a critical server

on the commuter side of the station by saying it was a

so grand these days, I must say.

during peak hours? How does a person fall on a circuit

"work in progress." It's been a work in progress for as

board? If this is a pervasive hazard, shouldn't OSHA

along as I can remember.

be mandating fall protection for computer geeks? And

Here's a question: Should historic train stations

who would install a squash court in an historic train

that have miraculously escaped demolition become

station?

amusement parks for people who probably never

Finally, can we just let train stations and airports
be train stations and airports as they were intended
and not entertainment districts? Isn't that what smartphones are for?
- Kenneth W. Betz, Senior Editor

Sources listed below are linked at commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/1904restaurants.

16

APRIL 2019

* CetraRuddy, cetraruddy.com

* Lyons Group, lyonsgroup.com

* Corradi USA, corradiusa.com

* D&D London, danddlondon.com

* ZF Design, zfdesign.com

* BAF, bigassfans.com

* Dyer Brown, dyerbrown.com

* Eater Boston, boston.eater.com

* Infratech, infratech-usa.com

* Casa Caña, casacanaboston.com

* Queensyard, queensyardnyc.com

* SlideClear, slideclear.com

* Studio Allston Hotel, hotelstudioallston.com

* Assemblage+, assembledge.com

* The Davis Companies, thedaviscompanies.com

* Cactus Club Café, cactusclubcafe.com

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T UREM AG A ZINE.COM

http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/1904restaurants http://www.cetraruddy.com http://www.lyonsgroup.com http://www.corradiusa.com http://www.danddlondon.com http://www.zfdesign.com http://www.bigassfans.com http://www.dyerbrown.com http://boston.eater.com http://www.infratech-usa.com http://www.casacanaboston.com http://www.queensyardnyc.com http://www.slideclear.com http://www.hotelstudioallston.com http://www.assembledge.com http://www.thedaviscompanies.com http://www.cactusclubcafe.com

Commercial Architecture April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture April 2019