Rethink DC Metro Stations

The Metro system of the Washington Metropolitan Area is one of the biggest subway systems in the United States. Under the notion of Transit Oriented Development, this book intends to rethink the role of Metro stations. The stations are considered as more than infrastructure, but with potentials to serve as neighborhood centers and vital physical elements in the city. Precedents of railway stations design are analyzed and compared to existing Metro stations. This work anticipates an organic relationship between the station and the neighborhood. It explores the opportunity to connect the architecture of the stations with their urban / suburban, socio-cultural, economic and physical contexts. Design strategies are developed and tested in two neighborhoods: Farragut North and Silver Spring in order to achieve a more dynamic and contextually integrated architecture of Metro stations, and thus to strengthen the urban centers as well as enhance the image of the neighborhoods in the Washington Metropolitan Area.