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GO Transit: Union Station Shed Replacement & Track Upgrades (Zeidler)

AlvinofDiaspar said:
I don't know about you, but changing the materiality of a roof and raising it a hundred feet in the air is hardly "near invisible". As to foolish waste of money, wait till one find out how much it actually cost to restore the Bush shed to it's quasi-original condition.

AoD
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You think the tiny portion raised is material?
 
Jonny5 said:
You think the tiny portion raised is material?
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I think it is better than not bothering to do it, and quite frankly, the whole shed should have been razed, period. And let's not pretend it is "tiny" - it is probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of the original shed.

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
I think it is better than not bothering to do it, and quite frankly, the whole shed should have been razed, period. And let's not pretend it is "tiny" - it is probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of the original shed.

AoD
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They should have just built the full glass shed, but kept the metal work - with the concrete removed (similar to how it is now under the glass)...it reminds of what was, but the roof is higher and feels more open...

When they put the green roof on, it's going to feel really dark again...too bad...
 
Jonny5 said:
The shed was never dark. That was a fantasy of glass fetishists.
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It always seemed pretty dark to me. And I've never had sexual relations with a piece of glass in my life. Perhaps I'm just not that sharp ...

Personally I'd have been quite happy to see the entire old train shed gone. It might well have been historical - but it's hardly an object of beauty.
 
nfitz said:
It always seemed pretty dark to me. And I've never had sexual relations with a piece of glass in my life. Perhaps I'm just not that sharp ...

Personally I'd have been quite happy to see the entire old train shed gone. It might well have been historical - but it's hardly an object of beauty.
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The Bush Train Sheds look great when empty, they evoke an impression of being in a forest with a low canopy, especially when looking down the tracks like in a terminal station. However, as soon as one train enters the shed the impression is gone and the shed becomes claustrophobic. The old iron work looks nice, I would have replaced the entire shed but kept the old supporting iron work underneath to give the place a sense of history.
 
The Bush shed would make about 3 very nice GO stations. Wouldn't look out of place at Bloor for example.
 
Jonny5 said:
Hilarious. I anticipated this, and posted that thought here about two years ago, noting there was almost no vantage point to see the roof,and no one spent time on the platform. Then a bunch of teenage UT posters from Durham and Peel circle-jerked all over each other to reply about how this was the bestest project everz and it would brighten peoples day and if you walked to Bremner Blvd and stood in the right spot and squinted you might maybe see it if it wasn't dark.

I am thankful the foolish waste of money on this near invisible change was minimized.
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I can't even clearly understand your point considering your own language seems to indicate you are the same teenager you decided to grossly depict in your reply...

Was the shed a "necessary" upgrade? Of course not, but I think it is a worthy one to showcase our busiest transit terminal and historic building in the city. Can't please everyone of course... It is a shame that it isn't more 'prominent' but I understand the desire to please the historic buffs as well while also saving money.

Did the circle reveal any comments as to the exhaust ducts and overall lighting under the remaining shed?
 
vegeta_skyline said:
If you remember how dark and dingy the shed used to be before then you'll know just how dramatic the effect has been.
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Jonny5 said:
The shed was never dark. That was a fantasy of glass fetishists. Being dingy or not is a matter of cleaning, which, by the way, the glass roof seriously needs, as it already looks filthy and gross. I am thankful the foolish waste of money on this near invisible change was minimized.
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The shed was pretty dark. It will be lighter once the retrofit/renewal is complete, but of course not as bright as the current unfinished state. I would like to know what the difference in lumens will be at track level in the middle of the two sheds compared to before, but I've never seen those figures.

AlvinofDiaspar said:
I think it is better than not bothering to do it, and quite frankly, the whole shed should have been razed, period. And let's not pretend it is "tiny" - it is probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of the original shed.

AoD
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The atrium is no more than 1/5th the length of the total former shed.

42
 
The shed's biggest issue was the way it was maintained. The ironwork should be kept painted and clean. The platforms should be brightly lit in a pleasant colour--not the old industrial orange or cold LEDs.
 
junctionist said:
The shed's biggest issue was the way it was maintained. The ironwork should be kept painted and clean. The platforms should be brightly lit in a pleasant colour--not the old industrial orange or cold LEDs.
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That seems like a tough request to fulfill seeing as you have eliminated the two lighting choices of 99% of all applications... what colour would you find 'pleasant' ?
 
Thanks everyone for the updates! I wonder if one of the reasons for having a glass atrium over only the central portion of the shed is to preserve the development potential and air rights over the east and west ends of the platforms? Are the supports below the platforms capable of supporting additional weight from an engineering perspective?
 
The columns are directly under the tracks, so it wouldn't be possible to use them in the fashion that you're probably imagining. The columns directly support the tracks and indirectly support the platform level, which then carries the load of the shed. In its current configuration, nothing substantial will ever be built above the train shed, without some very novel (and expensive) engineering.

More to the point, it would defeat the purpose of restoring the heritage shed.
 
While running to catch my train just now I noticed that new pendant lights (retro-styled) have been installed all along platform #3. Sorry wasn't able to take a pic.
 
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