Note to Teaching Team:
Because I am completing the final project in conjunction with CEE241B (LA Metro station design), most of the subsequent journal entries such as HVAC, plumbing and lighting systems are not really applicable. I will communicate with Glenn closely during our weekly check-in sessions to make sure I am still meeting the learning objectives of this course while delivering a design that fulfills CEE241B requirements.
Project Description for Underground UCLA Station
The Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project will seek to use a dedicated rail right-of-way (ROW) with a new tunnel and aerial route to connect West LA with the San Fernando Valley, and develop new stations along the way, and provide new urban centers for public gatherings.
Four underground/surface stations will be needed along the 14-mile route, of which the most prominent underground station will be UCLA. A new underground station is to be constructed below the UCLA Westwood Plaza on the rail ROW, in collaboration with UCLA to limit construction-based impacts and ensure the site design satisfies UCLA facility planning. UCLA Westwood Plaza is currently an important cul-de-sac mid-campus, with most central campus bus drop-offs, heavy foot traffic, and some aged landscaping. The plaza is however, under-utilized, given its prominent campus status and centrality. The station would be constructed largely below, with surface escalator/elevators incorporated onto the Westwood Plaza in an architecturally sensitive design with the area around it re-landscaped with significantly less bus area and improved pedestrian feel. The existing traffic needs are to be reduced/re-calibrated, given the new Metro stop and a proposal made for its relocation centrally nearby.
Proposed Development Site for the new UCLA Station (shaded area in figure)
Enlarged map of the UCLA Westwood Plaza station site showing site boundary
Design Inpirations
LA Metro Regional Connector project
To gain a better understanding of station design, I looked up the LA Metro Regional Connector project which is currently under construction as a reference. The Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project is a 1.86-mile link that connects the current Blue and Expo Line terminus with the Gold Line in downtown Los Angeles. The project involves constructing three new stations, including the Historic Broadway Station, Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, and Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill Station. Below are rendering of the stations (link). I found the dimensions of the above ground structure (measured on Google Maps) to be 150ft x 50ft.
A rendering of the Little Tokyo Station at 1st and Central (link)
Google Maps view of the Little Tokyo Station and its dimensions
A rendering of the Little Tokyo Station (link)
Another design of the Little Tokyo Station (1st and Central) (link)
3D visualization of a station and track layout with detailed view of ventilation and utility (link)
A rendering of the 2nd/Broadway station (link)
(link)
A rendering of the 2nd/Broadway station (link)
Another design inspiration is the Purple Line Extension 3 Design-Build Stations as seen below.
A rendering of the Westwood/UCLA station (link)
Expo/Crenshaw Station
(link)
Big Picture Ideas
- UCLA / Olympics theme at the stations
- multi-cultural signage, maps and flyers
- local developer for ventura (send Glenn the location)
Building Context & Passive Design
Underground to aerial
(link)