Urban Catalyst: Halifax's Waterfront Transit Hub

Abstract

Transportation systems are the central nervous systems of cities and afford transit the opportunity to impact and energize cities. Harnessing architecture’s role in infrastructure design, my thesis explores the design of a waterfront transit hub in Halifax as an urban catalyst. Constructivism as a design strategy is employed to contend with the shifting of scales and test design moves. Understanding the complex urban fabric of Halifax reveal the significance of a hub as a point of intersection.

Positioning a multi-modal hub on the edge - of change, of the water, of systems, of the land- influence the facets of design for a multi-modal hub. Catering to the movement and rest of this building typology, across scales, allow for urban contextual integration. The transit hub can re-energize Halifax’s downtown and intends to act as an urban catalyst, with many happy relationships with accidental functions.