The essence of our design approach to Union Station is the idea that everyone going to or coming from a train will have to pass through the main station space: the building becomes the portal to the city.

A beaux arts building designed in 1917 by Cass Gilbert, New Haven's Union Station was a grand public building until the decline of passenger railroads led to its closing in 1954. Suffering from lack of maintenance, extreme water damage, and graffiti, it was almost demolished, until the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project came to the rescue in 1979.

We collaborated with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in the complete exterior and interior restoration of Union Station, rebuilding of the dark tunnel passageways leading to the train platforms, and constructing a connected commuter parking garage. Moreover, nearly 70 years since he designed Union Station, we finally completed two components of Gilbert's scheme: we built a canopy for the main entrance, and installed elevators and escalators.

We completely cleaned and restored the water damaged ceilings, exterior masonry and windows, the interior limestone walls, the chandeliers, clocks, ticket windows and shop fronts. We installed new wooden benches replicating the originals, and removed offices on the balconies, allowing natural light to flood through the arched windows. New skylights and stainless steel ceilings in the subways draw natural light into once dark spaces.

The new parking garage has arches in its façade, echoing the arches of Union Station. They attempt to give the garage a sense of lightness, reducing its scale in relation to the historic railway building.