THESIS PRESENTATION
Location: Fargo, North Dakota
Typology: Thesis Presentation
Date: Spring 2019
Software Used: AutoCad, Illustrator, Lumion, Photoshop, Rhino, Vray
Site number one is Bloor-Yonge, a subway station that collapsed under the pressure of capitalism and privatization, which is a common theme in the neighborhood of Yorkville. A well-known commercial district in Toronto. This station is the entrance to downtown Toronto, a gateway to the cosmopolitan city. Bloor-Yonge stands as the busiest station in Toronto, moving 350 thousand passengers a day. A station that harassed their commuters, bombarded with advertisements and flashy goods; forcing each rider through a maze of mall hallways and empty storefronts. The station of Bloor-Yonge is carved out of the bay centre that once existed on the site. Highlighting the verticality of the site by bringing the skyscrapers into the depths of the subway. Blurring the underground with the above ground. The shops that once existed were pushed to the sides of the site, making the shopping experience more of a choice, less forced than what it was before.
Site number two stands with great contrast. Built in the shadows of Bloor-Yonge. St. George was a station built as a relief. Located on the edge of the Annex, a progressive neighborhood known for its gable roofs and lush streets. This station is hidden, forgotten in the eyes of the commuter and the eyes of the city. St. George is considered the second busiest station in all of Toronto. But the users don’t experience the station for what it is, nor even consider the historical neighborhood of the Annex, a neighborhood where Jane Jacobs spent her last years of her life. Two stations connected by the streets of the city and the subway trains that keeps the city moving in the underground. Two stations stuck in a tension, a tension of near and far, fast and slow, up and down, self and other. The self-conscious body enters the subway. Longing to get to their destination, or to meet with someone.