Loopy precedents

I'm still waiting for the thumbs up from Thesis Advisor M, but I've got fingers and toes crossed. Until I get approval, I'm going to scout around for useful stuff (I'm sure this is clear from my previous posts)

Right now, I'm interested in precedents. What kind of architecture exists for transit hubs? For underground transportation? What's out there in Vancouver and otherwise?

• Calatrava's WTC transit hub. The scale of this is quite different from what would be need at UBC. There is a Power point video online.

I'm going to find some more, but I've spent a few hours drinking thesis committee wine and chatting with some other students, so I'll get it tomorrow.

Further loopiness

John Maeda at Simplicity says that statistically speaking, most of the time you try something, you will mess up. You don't know how things work, you aren't sure what to do, you make mistakes. The secret is that if you try a lot of different things, you will end up with a few ideas that work: if 1 out of every 100 tries produces something useful, it's obvious that the more tries you have under your belt, the more useful stuff you will produce.

This is one of the reasons I post so many times a day. It can't hurt, I figure, to keep adding ideas and links to this blog, and there is an off chance it will produce something useful.

This is a link to a map of the new UBC bus loop that shows where each bus picks up and drops off. The B-line buses are to the south-west and north-east of the loop because they need to straighten out so people can board.

The community shuttles are not shown as part of the bus loop. These buses board to the north of the Student Recreation centre, and their route is shown here. They currently only cover the North end of campus, but we can expect services to expand to the South campus with increasing construction. In fact, residential construction all over campus increases the importance of the campus shuttles.

This map shows the proposed location of the new bus loop.

I'm not sure if I've linked to the Strategic Transportation Plan yet. It gives some user statistics concerning students and others making bus trips onto campus. It also talks about how there are noise issues with diesel buses, and mentions that Translink has plans for a rapid transit connection to UBC. This must be the Skytrain station. I found the link to the Strategic Transportation plan through the campus plan access and movement blog. This blog talks about all the different ways people get around campus: one suggestion is that UBC have attended bicycle parking. (Post is here). Even more interesting is the post that says funding is the biggest reason we don't have rail to UBC and that it's slated to be completed some time after 2021 unless money comes from an unexpected source. If thesis advisor M does agree that the bus loop is a good project, I think I'll send Mr. Richard Drdul a note...

The campus plan blogs are pretty interesting: I see that a lot of students seem intersested in a dry space to meet friends and study. It would be interesting to see if this could be blended with a new bus loop.

In the loop

The UBC bus loop has recently moved. When I started studying architecture at UBC it was south-west of the student union building. This was a very convenient place because it sat between the arts and science sides of the campus and was adjacent to the Student Union Building.

The loop functioned moderately well, but the introduction of B-Line buses caused problems with both the waiting areas and available space. It was not designed for the articulated buses or the line-ups of 100+ students waiting to get on the buses. When the 44 B-Line was introduced the stop was on the street across from the loop (if you look carefully you can see it on the map).

After 2003, the bus loop moved to just east of McInnis field, in a space that used to be tennis courts. They decided not to repave, and around Christmas the road turned into oreo cookie crumbs because it couldn't handle the weight of the buses.

The map shows a couple of useful things. The turning radius for the articulated buses and the trolley buses are significantly different. As well, much of the plaza adjoining the Student Union Building could be co-opted for a new bus loop. It may be possible to preserve some of the grassy knoll or to recreate part of it's utility. The grassy knoll serves as a social condensor in the same way as the microarchitectural articulations: because it has no set use it can be used as seating in the summer, a ski/snowboard hill in the winter and serves many other functions.

Because UBC has B-lines, trolley buses, gas-powered buses and community shuttles, I think it would be a good idea to separate the community shuttles from the rest of the buses and put them above ground. This would mean that the only buses using the loop would be from off campus which could then affect how the loop is laid out.

Most of the vehicles that leave campus go down University Boulevard to 10th Avenue, but the 25 and some other buses travel past the hospital. Any bus loop would have to take into consideration the different directions of buses leaving and organise the loop to minimize confusion on the part of drivers and users.

Completely off topic

I play on the school Futsbal league (indoor soccer, as far as I can tell) and even though we lost, our team totally rocks! Go Falling Squirrels!

Bus service on campus

I've been reading the Campus Transit Plan and thinking about what kind of buses would use the new bus loop

• The articulated B-Line buses
• Gasoline and/or natural gas powered buses
• Trolley buses
• Small community shuttle buses (short bus)

The campus transit plan also talks about why a below grade bus loop is better than one on-grade, and some of the requirements of the loop.

Better because:

• Faster transit service/fewer delays to buses
• Entire station would be 'fare paid zone'
• Avoid traffic congestion and delays at pedestrian crosswalks
• Weather protected, heated and climate controlled

Requirements:

• Entry/exit at University Boulevard at Wesbrook Mall
• Capacity of 40 or more buses
• Station would have to be well lit and feel safe
• Full accessibility
• Seating, telephones and other amenities
• Plan suggests glass doors separate passengers from buses to ensure air quality

I think it might also be useful to think of an underground bus loop as a chance to connect buildings underground. If the grassy knoll is removed to put in the new loop, it's reasonable to connect the loop to the SUB. There may also be a chance to connect it to the new library, although it is possible that is too far.

The idea of glass doors separating passengers from the bus exaust does not seem optimal. I think it would be better to have some kind of physical barrier. There is also the chance to line up the curb with the height of buses so they do not need to deploy the wheelchair ramp at this station.

Bus stuff

Although I haven't got the go ahead from thesis advisor M, I hav been doing some reading about how the UBC bus loop works and what need to be considered for the future. So, here are some issues in no particular order:

• The 10 year transit plan by Translink says that "the potential final link of the rapid transit network on the Burrard Peninsula is a western extension, connecting the existing system with the Central Broadway Business District and potentially to UBC. Studies to review alignments and technologies, community integration, cost, financing and phasing will be completed within the next five years; although it is unlikely that construction could begin until after 2013. The priority and requirement for a link as far as UBC should be addressed in the forthcoming longer-term growth management and long-range transportation plan processes." Basically, it says that it is likely that there will eventually be a Skytrain line to UBC, but it won't happen until after 2013. Since that's only 6 years away, so it may be one of the reasons bus loop design/construction has been delayed. It may be possible for me to incorporate space for an underground station: it's certainly something to discuss with thesis advisor M. The planning for this should occur in 2007.
• There has been a lot of construction on South Campus and it is likely this will continue: this should be addressed in any proposed transit plans for the region.
• Design and construction of the UBC underground transit exchange is slated for planning or implementation in 2007. The 2007 Transportation Plan also says that the UBC underground transit exchange will require Intelligent Transportation Systems functional studies to operate the facility.
• Tranlink is trying to implement a Community Pass for non-students that live at UBC.
• UBC Transit Exchange – A Memorandum of Understanding is being negotiated between TransLink and UBC for a new transit exchange at UBC." If approved, work is expected to begin in 2007 on the ITS functional requirements study and preliminary design for the underground transit exchange. Perhaps one of the most technologically sophisticated facilities of its kind, this underground exchange will be similar in function to an airport terminal with arrivals and departures information available to passengers via a large electronic message board in the upper plaza, before they proceed to board in the lower level. To provide this function, this project will require real time tracking of exact locations of transit vehicles as they enter and navigate through the arrival, holding and departures areas of the exchange. The system will assign buses to arrival and departure bays, alert passengers on gate location and maintain traffic flow". ( from the 2007 Transit Plan)
• Translink is planning on making buses a 'fare paid zone' (essentially putting the responsibility for paying fare onto the user) so B-Lines can board at all doors at all stops
• Trolley buses and articulated buses have very specific turning radii which significantly affect any transit hub.

Where some things change while others stay the same.

So I've been thinking about yesterday's discussion of rates of change, and wondering if a good program would be one that has a couple of different rates of change. One example of this is a shopping centre: the retail spaces are frequently remodeled while the corridors remain basically the same. I'm not sure if a shopping centre would be a good program for microarchitectural articulations, but the idea of a building that supports different rates of change seems interesting.

I also missed a couple of programs that have high rates of change:

1. Schools and/or daycare centres: very busy from 9-5, unused the rest of the time
2. Train stations/ferry terminals: very busy when people are waiting.

I was going to make that list a little longer, but I think that train stations/ferry terminals seem like an interesting place to start. In Vancouver there are a number of different places passengers wait for transportation.

• Ferry terminal at Duke Point
• Ferry terminal on North Shore
• Greyhound Bus Terminal on Terminal Avenue and Main Street
• Seabus/Skytrain/WestCoast Express station at Waterfront Station
• Seabus at Lonsdale Quay
• Skytrain/bus at various Skytrain stations (the most famous is Brentwood Station)
• Skytrain/Skytrain at Broadway Station
• UBC Bus Loop

I think most of these designed spaces have pretty much the same requirements.

Since we have been asked to do programs/sites on UBC campus, I think that the most useful site/program to investigate is the UBC bus loop. What are the pros and cons of this?

Pros:

1. A bus loop/station needs seating that is extremely durable and resistant to wear
2. There are significant variations in use during the day
3. The proposed bus loop is underground, which will provide lots of opportunity for sectional variations that support MA's
4. The programmatic use of a bus loop is unlikely to change frequently. Partitions won't go in as user requirements change.
5. A large bus loop will need small scale articulations to give a human scale
6. There are many opportunities to add other programs to the site, like small shops and other things that might need a large covered space
7. The very specific requirements of a bus loop might make it easier to generate architecture
8. Vancouver already has a history of allowing architects to design transit stations (like the Millenium Line Skytrain stations)

What are the cons?

1. The program does not change significantly in the life of the structure. A bus loop is unlikely to be used for anything else and I would be reluctant to design for that.
2. A bus loop would have to deal with issues of homelessness and skateboarders. I like skateboarders and I think they can be very useful in activating a space, but they can make other users of areas very uncomfortable because it is possible they could hit other users.
3. Lighting and structure would be very important and I'm not sure how to tie this in with the MA's.

All in all, a new bus loop at UBC sounds like it could actually be a feasible option for program/site. Hooray! All I need now is a third member of my thesis committee, some site research, a list of dates for committee meetings, some help with structures..... well, an awful lot of stuff. But still, hooray!