Shan He

The design focuses on the historic aspects of the site, with special attention to the cultural and technical influences. The train station, which is located on Michigan Avenue, is adjacent to the Henry Ford and Green Field village. It is an inter media that links the public and the two spaces. The proposal is to develop a station that is a time bridge that presents changes in technology, culture and automobile industry. When people go through the station, they are traveling through time. By reading history of these three lines, I divide the time line into 6 stages.

The form of the station is like a huge medieval bridge with building complex on it, which was divided into 6 stages accordingly. The Bridge is supported by huge steel structure above the rail track. The circulation of the station is arranged linearly and assigned to different time stages. The roof system manifests different character of each stage. The interior displays the technology development of different periods by showing artifacts from first steam train, Ford automobile, first computer to media mesh wall, I max screen. There are two radically different envelopes. The one facing the museum displays architectural forms in different stages. While the north façade facing the Michigan Avenue is covered by a translucent skin, which makes the façade more integrated. Yet the roof system can still be seen from the outside.