Pioneer Village Station in Toronto, Canada by aLL DESIGN

Article source: aLL DESIGN

Pioneer Village station straddles the border of York Region, beneath the intersection of Steeles Avenue West and Northwest Gate, anchoring a corner of York University Campus. The station will serve as an integrated regional transport hub serving up to 20,000 subway passenger trips daily, providing 1,881 commuter parking spaces and two separate regional bus terminals. The location is otherwise underdeveloped and it is intended that the station entrances and bus terminals will create a public focal point that will serve the future development of the surrounding area, beginning with Steeles Avenue West.

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

• Architects: aLL DESIGN
• Project: Pioneer Village Station
• Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
• Client: Toronto Transit Commission
• Value: $165M CAD
• Size: 16,200 m²
• Year: 2011
• Completion: December 2017

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

The subway station’s entrances were designed as a pair of sculptural structures; their height exceeding that necessary, to increase their visibility – ‘We learn a lot from cathedrals,’ said Will Alsop. Rendered in weathering steel, these two structures mirror each other in shape and scale. The bus station canopy – also Corten steel – has a huge cantilevered roof, the surface of which is planted with meadow grasses, to create a ‘green-roof’ and to provide shelter for waiting passengers.

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Both Pioneer Village station and Finch West station (below) comprise beautifully executed concrete work – in Pioneer Village the interior walls are faceted, highly-polished concrete and the supporting columns along the length of the platforms are angled and ovoid in section.

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Public Art Installation: “LightSpell”, designed by realities:united, Berlin, is a “super sculpture”; a hybrid between art and the lighting of the subway station. The interactive installation consists of a suspended array of 40 light elements that run along the ceiling throughout the station. Each element produces the alphabet; special characters and numerals, enabling passengers to send messages that appear on the display. The debate on censorship of this installation is ongoing.

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Pioneer Village station incorporates the following environmental initiatives:

• Cool roofs and green roofs;
• Increased daylight levels to reduce electric lighting power usage;
• LED lighting in pylon signs, and energy efficient lighting in illuminated wayfinding signage to reduce power consumption;

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

• Water efficient plumbing fixtures;
• Energy efficient HVAC system;
• Reduced storm water runoff into the municipal drainage system by utilizing green roof landscaping and soft landscaping areas adjacent to other building runoff areas;

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

• Short term bicycle parking spaces; and
• Landscaping with native and drought-tolerant species.

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Image Courtesy © aLL DESIGN

Tags: Canada, Toronto

Categories: Metro Station, Station, Transportation Center

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