Metrotown Skytrain Station Renovation and Expansion

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This upgrade and expansion project fully modernised the station and increased the platform length from 80m to 200m, with all work completed while the station remained fully operational. 

Judge's comment:

Significant expansion of the Skytrain Station in Vancouver required the addition of new and improved access areas, necessitating doubling the total length of the station while retaining full operation and access. 

The result is a testament to the structural engineering team’s ability to design an aesthetically elegant, structurally efficient solution which provides the focal point of the expanded station architecture.   

Two curvilinear triangulated trusses are used to form the glazed roof space to the extension, the central chord being ‘flipped’ from upper to lower on the adjacent spans, providing a delightful wave effect which successfully complies with both headroom constraints and architectural form.

These loop trusses were designed to enable continuous operation of the station during working hours, erection of each 30m long truss taking just one hour during the night-time non-operational window.

Most finishes were applied to the trusses on the ground adjacent to the station before lifting the assembly into place using a pair of boom cranes working in harmony, thereby minimising overall construction time. 

The judges were particularly impressed by the structural engineers’ ability to enhance the architectural concept through elegant detailing and innovative solutions to the complex problems associated with continuous operation of a public facility.