Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc
^ it always confuses me what the true height is as its never clear if they are considering the above sea level or local grade of the site.
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In this case, they are measuring from ground level, which at this point I say we still have to wait until these towers are designed to lock in anything. The terminal itself is about 5 years away from construction. Hopefully by then, they will have selected a developer, and construction can continue. Better to get all of the messy stuff out of the way at once.
If they select a developer in a reasonable amount of time, it would be fitting if Foster and Partners designed the towers. I've been thinking about the number of developments Foster has been designing in New York lately. There is a lot of homegrown work for sure. But Foster has certainly been leaving a mark in the past decade and coming years. You look at 50 Hudson, 425 Park, 270 Park, 350 Park, 15 Penn, 2 WTC, even the Hearst tower and some more minor developments, a mark is being left on the skyline. But for most New Yorkers, and people in the tri-state area, it is the new Port Authority Bus Terminal that will stand out. Mostly because of what it's replacing, the hated PA Bus terminal that stands now. But also, because it will be an enormous structure that stretches from 8th Avenue, all the way to the convention center. It will be a landmark in itself, rising to the level of the great transit centers like Grand Central and Moynihan/Penn. And it will be massive enough to make even the skyscrapers above it seem small in comparison.
I love the integration of the towers into the framework of the bus terminal, and hope the design of the towers matches in quality that of the terminal.
The current bus terminal is basically 2 integrated terminals, with gates that function differently in each part. The new terminal will have a seamless layout.
A typical layout of the above ground bus gates:
And of course, each of those levels will have large storage capacity:
