CONTEXT

Travel is an integral component of contemporary life, generator of urban activity and so it is important that ports and stations become accessible, ambient places in their own functional dimension Large-scale travel was a phenomena of the ancient times and the profound, irreversible and revolutionary changes caused by mass transport have been catalysts to new approaches in the arena of transportation architecture. Transportation Architecture is an emerging urban signature and terminals are becoming urban portals - efficient places where moving from one mode of transport to another is an experience Transport terminals are fast becoming a part and a social focus in a city with a comprehensible understanding of the nature of places of transition. Bus stations in literature are urban reflections of raw metropolitan life. Bus terminals or travel ports had their early precursors with streamlined style, stylistic and uniform modifications of industrialization. Later they donned the manifestations of the art deco style. During the mid 20’s the reformation of bus stations to an inviting, safe transit centre became the focus.

SCOPE & NEED

Transport has spawned a spectacular range of building forms in the industrial age: from the hallowed halls of railway stations and the high-end glamour of the international airport, to the more modest multi-storey car park and consumption-friendly petrol station. But while planes, trains and cars continue to inspire visionary architecture, there is one mode of transport that is rarely associated with landmark buildings – the bus terminal - the transport mode that architecture forgot.Bus transport needs to create a dynamic, space port docking, image. Well designed transport terminals structure the life and environment in a city Bus travel can assert its viability through a path breaking architectural presence with an identity / brand value of a metropolitan.

DESIGN GOAL

The bus terminus design is intended to create a transport centroid where the collection, distribution and mode changes take place efficiently.

DESIGN OBJECTIVES

• Provide a strong sense of public domain in constant motion.

• Integrate architecture with mobility, speed and rapid transit elements.

• Strike an equilibrium between man, , space, technology and machine

• To emphasize on the particulars of context including travel, space, activity, connections, scale, and the footprint on the site.

• Make priority provisions as in an inclusive design

• To create an identity that reflects the urban image in the context of globalisation of the city of Chennai

FOCUS

1. The design envisages the transport terminal as a portal to the city. A comprehensive attempt at realizing the terminal to becoming the signature hub in the city comparable to world class ranking.

2. Architecture & Material – Emphasis on the use of steel in architecture in the structural framework, exteriors, facades, interiors, art and landscape features.

AXIOMS OF DESIGN

1. Entrance Portal – Functional and Visual.

2. Time as a dimension – Faster movement of buses, easy access, quicker modes of interchange are the keywords.

3. Dynamics of Material – The potential of building materials to transform design to art and architecture in the built form.

4. Inclusive Paradigms of Design – Energy Efficient, Green / Sustainable technologies, Barrier free, Site & Climate responsive.

5. Nexus – Man – Space – Machine - Mobility – Technology.

6. Intelligent Systems & Technology.

6. Iconic Attribute – Signature architecture, International Branding in Transportation architecture.