Rosa Parks Transit Center
The new Rosa Parks Transit Center is an intermodal center that includes a passenger terminal, a roof canopy covering a drop-off area, and an outdoor waiting area.
It plays a pivotal role in providing alternate means of public transportation to the greater Detroit area.
The city wished to create an iconic public space that would energize the urban fabric and uplift the quality of the area. LSG developed a design that was a drastic departure from the old buildings surrounding the site. The design used the urban plaza, covering it with a sustainable skin to define space, washed with daylight, and harvested rainwater.
A series of canopies creates an active, visual, daylit space that challenges the conventional notion of a roof. The membrane hovers 50 feet in space in some areas and is brought to the ground in other areas, where it acts as a giant water collector. To create rhythm, the proposed scheme was broken down into seven repetitive bays, approximately 110 feet long and 50 feet wide. Each bay is composed of two trusses, an A-frame, and fabric, transforming the roof into a wall and encompassing a courtyard.
