多伦多地铁5号线 埃格林顿线丨加拿大多伦多丨AtkinsRéalis,Arcadis等多家公司

The 19-kilometre metro Line 5 – Eglinton has opened in Toronto, with 15 underground stations integrated into the urban landscape of the city's Midtown section.

Though it faced multiple delays and settlements between municipal groups, engineers and designers, the Line 5 LRT system opened in February, with riders entering the 25 total stations.

It connects multiple train lines and provides cross-town access for the growing population of this peripheral zone.

Toronto's Line 5 transit line has opened

The stations, which present the most visible aspect of the new line, feature a design led by design and engineering outfit Arcadis and AtkinsRéalis, alongside studios Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker, NORR, and Dialog.

While 10 stations are aboveground, each of the fifteen stations leading into the underground fits into a specific typology: corner, embedded or pavilion.

It features 15 underground stations designed by a team led by Arcadis and AtkinsRéalis

For example, the function of the Embedded Station is to integrate directly into the infrastructure, with slabs strong enough to support building overhead and at other points, modular wall structures to be integrated into adjacent buildings.

Though their functions differ, Arcadis lead designer Lisa D'Abbondanza said that the stations were meant to have a unified visual identity – light-filled during the day and glowing beacons at night.

Different typologies allowed for different integration into the streetscape

"Every element was designed for intuitive, connected journeys and addressing the needs of the city, the neighbourhood, and the individual," D'Abbondanza told Dezeen.

"These typologies strengthen each neighbourhood, but maintain a unified architectural language throughout."

Most of the station entries are glass pavilions to filter light in. Photo by Arcadis/AtkinsRéalis

Though the project's opening was delayed by as much as six years, it features one of the longest underground metro lines to be completed in Canada or the United States, not including extensions, in the 21st century. It matches Vancouver's 2009 Canada Line, though Line 5 has one more kilometre underground.

In other urban cores such as Chicago, New York and Montreal, the latest efforts to build new subway lines were made in the 1980s, if not earlier.

"We needed a lot of transit because we hadn't been building transit in Toronto for a long time," said D'Abbondanza, who noted the last major push in the city was in the 1950s.

The team created wide open spaces with intuitive wayfinding

Toronto is the fastest-growing city in Canada and the United States, and the project was initiated in the 2000s, with construction starting in 2011.

An initial design programme was put together by Metrolinx with support from Canadian architecture studio Gh3*

Several engineering innovations were brought to bear on the project, including a sequential excavation method, some top-down construction to maintain traffic flow, and the strategic use of shotcrete, sprayable concrete, to eliminate the need for formwork.

At night, the stations were designed to be beacons

At one point in the line, a historic 500-tonne structure used as an amenities building by film company Kodak was pushed back from the street to make room for the Mount Dennis Station. It will now become a community centre.

The use of multiple different typologies allowed for multiple interventions at the community level, according to D'Abbondanza, who said that in some cases, the stations actually added outdoor community space, such as plazas and bike shelters.

Even some of the larger underground platforms were conceived as plazas. These undergrounds were given modern ventilation systems that allow them to "breathe".

"We always try to focus on clearing away the functional and bringing in large amounts of space so that we can reclaim the underground environment
as really a dynamic public realm," said D'Abbondanza.

Park spaces and bike shelters were built into some of the stations. Photo by Arcadis/AtkinsRealis

For some of the functional above-ground areas, such as mechanical systems, murals were painted. And the wayfinding and furniture for much of the system was rendered in an orange colour.

For the LRT aboveground portions, D'Abbondanza said the first green tracks – porous planted areas underneath the track – in Canada were utilised.

Overall, she said that the line will transform the experience of the city, and cut down on trips, reducing exchanges, especially to the airport.

"It will have a transformative effect on the city and each neighbourhood over time," she concluded.

The aboveground portion features Canada's first greenrail. Photo by Arcadis/AtkinsRealis

Other recent news in mass transit includes a series of stations designed by Foster + Partners and others for California's long-delayed high-speed rail line.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, RIBA president Chris Williamson has designed a speculative elevated high-speed railway line that would connect Northern England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The photography is by A-Frame unless otherwise stated. 

Project credits:

Client: Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx Constructors: Crosslinx Transit Solutions– EllisDon, Aecon, FlatironDragados Canada and AtkinsRéalis Design and engineering lead: AtkinsRéalis and Arcadis Architecture: Arcadis (Lead), Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker, NORR, DIALOG Urban design: Arcadis (Lead), Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker Landscape architecture: Arcadis Design excellence: Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker (Lead), Arcadis Structural engineering: AtkinsRéalis (Lead), Arcadis, LEA, Entuitive, RJC, Dr. Sauer & Partners Mechanical engineering: AtkinsRéalis (Lead), Arcadis, HHAngus Electrical engineering: AtkinsRéalis (Lead), Arcadis, HH Angus Civil engineering: AtkinsRéalis (Lead), Arcadis, LEA Utilities engineering: AtkinsRéalis (Lead), Arcadis, LEA, AUE, DPM Energy, Utility Solutions Corporation, Telecon Geotechnical: AtkinsRealis (Lead), Thurber Engineering Ltd Transportation engineering: Arcadis (Lead), AtkinsRéalis Systems engineering and systems integration: AtkinsRéalis Building code & fire safety engineering: Jensen Hughes Interior design: Arcadis Public Lighting: Total Lighting Solutions Signage & wayfinding: EntroCommunications Pedestrian modelling: AtkinsRéalis(Lead), Jensen Hughes Vertical transportation: KJA Consultants Universal design: DesignABLEEnvironments (Lead), Arcadis Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design:RHEA Visualisation: Arcadis (Lead), Norm Li Art consultant: Curio Art Consultancy Heritage conservation: Richard Unterman LEED/sustainability: Green Reason Microclimate analysis: RWDI Consulting Engineers and Scientists Noise and vibration: J.E. Coulter Associates, ATS Operation/LRT modelling: AtkinsRéalis Specifications: DGS Consulting Services(Lead), AtkinsRéalis, Arcadis Hydrogeology: AtkinsRéalis Corrosion control: APE