Crossing Boundaries
Transformation of the Balti Jaam train station
J.M. Stok (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
J.A. Mejia Hernandez – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
M.W. Klooster – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
Historically, transportation infrastructure particularly underground transit hubs has been characterized by heavy, imposing, and closed architectural typologies. This graduation project proposes a departure from this monumental tradition. It redefines the public transit hub as a transparent, subtle, and human-centric urban node. The research explores how infrastructure can transcend its purely functional role as a machine for movement, transforming into an interconnected spatial environment that bridges the gap between the urban fabric and the human scale.
The architectural design in Tallinn is fundamentally driven by a contrasting spatial division. Above ground, the project responds to the fine-grained urban grid through the delicate insertion of three modest, small-scale buildings. These structures blend subtly into the city, forming a soft transition to the heavy infrastructure. Underground, the project manifests as a highly functional, yet it also offera a rich and pleasant spatial expierence for travelers.
By situating the large-scale functional spaces below ground, the street level is kept open and free. This allows for the creation of a new, continuous urban park landscape directly within the city center. This park functions as the ultimate connective tissue, it not only integrates the various modes of transport (train, bus, bicycle and parking facilities) but also stitches the fragmented surrounding neighborhoods back together.
The final architectural and urban experience is guided through four main spatial themes: the manipulation of light, clear sightlines, the integration of the park, and the introduction of drama to create spatial tension and a heightened sensory experience into the transit landscape.