After the juice train: Kevin Franklin, New Orleans, LA

Prize: iPad 2 with Wi-Fi (16 GB), T-Splines T-Shirt.

Designer quote:

The failure of high-speed rail in Florida has not stopped a number of other proposals for rail transit from moving forward. These low-speed alternatives redeploy existing freight railways for passenger use, and are proving to be a much quicker and cheaper alternative to develop. As such, many small towns throughout the state will soon be connected to a larger rail network.

This project, located in the historically rail-centered town of Plant City, Florida, imagines what a new stop along these existing routes might be like as people begin to ride on railways that also carry phosphate, automobiles, and orange juice. Through hybridizing the station with a bookstore and grocery store, the station transcends its infrastructural role. The node becomes a positive addition to the city rather than just a place for waiting, as many stations are now.

The bookstore and grocery store occupy the upper two levels of the building. In the early stages of design, I realized that the shelving would be a very important aspect, and attempted to capitalize on its formal potential with the help of T-Splines. The result is a lyrical, flowing wall of shelves through the interior of the station, echoing the perpetual movement of people and trains.

T-spline geometry is not present in the final model nor the renderings, but was essential in its role as a trimming surface that shapes the shelves. The result, I believe, is an apparatus that would be quite elegant but still feasible to construct with the help of a CNC router (and lots of wood).

Judges quote:

Overall, a good package. Probably the design would profit more if the organic freeform shapes would find their way in more areas/parts of the building, not just for trimming the shelves; however, the design intent is clear, strong and with a suitable amount of detail.