Penn Station is about to be a lot more pleasant

FastCompany: The architectural firm behind plans to remake New York City’s Penn Station unveiled its design on Monday, and renderings show a station that’s meant to be bigger, brighter, and more welcoming to the public. [Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] The design, which leaked last month before its formal reveal, would encase the circular form of Madison Square Garden with a classical-style, square-shaped station that’s designed to let light in. Inside, narrow walkways would be expanded and low-slung ceilings raised. Architects estimate the redesigned platforms will reduce egress time by more than a minute.

[Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] More details about the plans reveal a design blends a modern classical look with retro-inspired art deco forms that architects looked to for inspiration. The ceiling in the main hall is decorated as a map of Manhattan streets with a clock hanging in the middle where Penn Station is located on the map, and as a callback to the clock that was once displayed in the main concourse of the old Penn Station. The New York City skyline is depicted in decorative reliefs in the main entry space, and four original eagle statues from the original Penn Station would be placed at the building’s corner entries.

Architects are using the original station’s foundations as much as possible. [Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] “This is geeky but it’s really important because building new foundations at Penn when a train’s coming in every three minutes during the day is incredibly complicated and costly,” Vishaan Chakrabarti, the lead design architect and founder of PAU, said during a press conference. “So we’re trying to reuse and recycle foundations wherever we can.” [Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] One entrance features a large display showing President Donald Trump’s name and a presidential seal .

Criticism over it, Chakrabarti said, is “much ado about nothing.” “This couldn’t be more commonplace. Federal buildings everywhere have presidential seals,” he said. [Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] PAU and HOK are leading the architectural plans, and they worked with developers Halmar and Skanska and other partners including Severus Associates, ME Engineers, Lerch Bates, HNTB, and CBRE. Pentagram was named as the agency behind the station’s way finding, signage, and graphic design, and L’Observatoire would do the lighting design.

[Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] The proposed plan calls for removing the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden and turning that space into a grand entrance. In addition, there would be loading space inside for trailers so they no longer have to unload on the sidewalks outside. Sidewalks would be widened outside the station, creating what designers hope is a new public space. “We think about how architecture and the city engage constantly,” Vishaan said. [Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] The proposal is estimated to cost somewhere between $7 billion to $8 billion and be paid through federal grants and loans.

“There will be no fare hike to pay for this project, that’s not going to happen,” Andy Byford, special advisor to the Amtrak Board, said. [Image: Penn Transformation Partners/Amtrak] Byford denied the procurement process for project was corrupt after elected officials including Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York said it lacked transparency . Byford said the finalist design was selected from four letters of interest that were whittled down to three.

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The redesign of a major public infrastructure like Penn Station has significant implications for brand perception and user experience, making it relevant and impactful for brand strategy professionals, though architectural redesigns are a common practice.