FULTON CENTER TRANSIT HUB BY GRIMSHAW ARCHITECTS

Grimshaw Architects brought light in the subway

When you think of the subway in a city as big as New York City, the first images that come to mind are pretty dark and gloomy. To tell the truth, it’s a bit the same in every subway (except in Stockholm). Once you get down the stairs, you don’t expect to see the light until you get out of there. The American architecture firm Grimshaw decided to change that for the Fulton Center transit hub.

Teaming up with the independent design consultancy firm Arup, the architects at Grimshaw designed the central space of the complex. The transit center is organized around a vast atrium topped with a glass oculus. The great idea presents itself in the form of a descending cone that is highlighted by a hyperbolic paraboloid cable net designed by artist James Carpenter. The cable net is supporting an inner skin of filigree metal reflector panels that optimize the capture and redistribution of light in the atrium.

In the heart of Lower Manhattan, the Fulton Street station is almost a mandatory passage for an average of 275,000 passengers per day. Offering some light to these Subterraneans was just the right thing to do.