Washington / Wabash Elevated CTA Station

  • Prize
    Honorable Mention in Architectural Design / Bridges / Public infrastructure
  • Company/Firm
    EXP
  • Lead Designer
    Thomas Hoepf
  • Design Team
    Jakalski, Protsishin, Badic, Viamontes, Johnson,
  • Architect
    EXP
  • Interior Designer
    EXP
  • Const. Company
    F.H. Paschen
  • Location
    Chicago, IL USA
  • Project Date
    2017

MOVEMENT is the heart of transit, and the CTA is the thread that weaves through Chicago to connect the City of Neighborhoods. The Washington/Wabash Station transforms the perception of public transit in Chicago as the new gateway to Millennium Park and the city's downtown attractions.

The wave form weaves through the historic Wabash Avenue canyon as an undulating counterpoint to the city grid, and anticipates the soft forms of the park and lake beyond.

The skeletal steel and faceted glass canopies create a dynamic play of light on the platform and street below, and frame views to the historic terracotta facades. The canopy steel integrates all utilities (gutters, downspouts, conduit, lighting, communication and signage cabling) within the profiles, thus yielding a streamlined uncluttered appearance.

The Station serves as public sculpture that animates and enlivens the Wabash Avenue canyon at all levels - from the street as a passerby, from the platform as a rider, and from the buildings above and in so doing transforms the entire street.