Transportation is important to getting around a city. Easy access to public
transportation helps alleviate congestion on the roads while promoting
sustainability and green living through a decrease in car emissions and other
pollutants. The Bridgeport Intermodal Transportation Center in Bridgeport,
Conn., is a key component of the city’s interconnected public transportation
complex that links bus, rail and ferry services along the Bridgeport
waterfront. The new center replaces an antiquated and inefficient bus terminal
and is expected to be a significant transportation and economic development
magnet to Bridgeport’s downtown and waterfront areas
According to Leonard Bertaux, AIA, principal at Bertaux + Iwerks Architects, Boston, the intention was for the building to have a contemporary appearance in both form and material, similar to an aviation terminal.
Clad in zinc panels from Woburn, Mass.-based RHEINZINK America Inc. and glass, the building is an iconic, visible symbol of public transportation, as well as a warm and welcoming place for passengers. RHEINZINK supplied 10,000 square feet (929 m2) of 22-gauge, 0.03-inch (0.8-mm) Preweathered Blue-Gray RHEINZINK Flat Lock Tile for the project. The zinc façade is fully illuminated by a ring of exterior in-ground lights.
“The Silver-Gray prepatina zinc panels gave us just the right color and reflectance with a no maintenance material, which was highly desirable for our client,” Bertaux said.
The $23 million state-of-the-art facility includes 17 bus bays and a 10,000-square-foot passenger terminal that physically links to train and ferry terminals by a 1/4-mile (0.4-km) pedestrian bridge. The 2,500-square-foot (232-m2) two-story waiting area features several high-quality full-size photographs of historic Works Progress Administration murals overhead.
YKK AP America Inc., Austell, Ga., supplied 14,000 square feet
(1,301 m2) of glass curtainwall for the passenger terminal and more than 500,000 square feet (46,450 m2) of curtainwall for the pedestrian bridges.
Open-air bus platforms are organized under two linear steel canopies, manufactured by Tuckerman Steel, East Boston, Mass., that provide protective covering with integrated seating for passengers. Each platform has a custom glass art windscreen that combines images and texts themed around journeys that is part of a public art installation called “Stories on the Go” by Chris Iwerks.
The center incorporates local bus service; the Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority; intercity bus service; commuter rail service; ferry service to Long Island, N.Y.; and shuttle services to metropolitan airports. The goal of this vast project is to bring all these services into one easily accessible facility with expanded passenger amenities and improved connectivity.
Bridgeport Intermodal Transportation Center, Bridgeport, Conn.
Award: 2008 Design Excellence Award from the Boston Society of Architects
Architect: Bertaux + Iwerks Architects, Boston
Fabricator/installer: Barrett Roofing, Danbury, Conn.
Steel canopy fabricator: Tuckerman Steel Fabricators, East Boston, Mass.
Metal wall panels: RHEINZINK America Inc., Woburn,Mass.
Glass curtainwalls: YKK AP America Inc., Austell, Ga.
