The new Moynihan Train Hall will serve as a grand, world-class gateway into New York City while restoring and preserving the historic, landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building, designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1913. Located across the street from Penn Station, the Moynihan Train Hall will expand the capacity of the currently overutilized Penn Station by providing additional concourse space and access to the existing nine train platforms and 17 tracks that run below it.
The historic space will be celebrated and enhanced with a monumental series of four gridshell skylights in the building's Train Hall and an additional skylight in the Midblock space. The new lightweight gridshell skylights are designed to rest minimally on the building, and in the Train Hall also on its three existing steel trusses.
The design of the gridshells was optimized to create an inviting visitor experience, with larger panels toward the center of the shells to allow more light in the space. The depth of the steel members decreases toward the middle of the shells to efficiently carry the loads and increase the sense of lightness as you progress into the space. The steel gridshell structure is braced within the plane of the roof surface with diagonal cables, while the barrels of the shells are braced by a series of diagonal spider cables.
The historic space will be celebrated and enhanced with a monumental series of four gridshell skylights in the building's Train Hall and an additional skylight in the Midblock space. The new lightweight gridshell skylights are designed to rest minimally on the building, and in the Train Hall also on its three existing steel trusses.
The design of the gridshells was optimized to create an inviting visitor experience, with larger panels toward the center of the shells to allow more light in the space. The depth of the steel members decreases toward the middle of the shells to efficiently carry the loads and increase the sense of lightness as you progress into the space. The steel gridshell structure is braced within the plane of the roof surface with diagonal cables, while the barrels of the shells are braced by a series of diagonal spider cables.
- Location
New York City, NY, USA
- Architect
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
- Client
Moynihan Station Development Corporation
- Contractor
Skanska, seele
- Our Scope of Work
schematic design, design development, construction documents, construction administration, erection engineering
- Covered area 30,000 sf (2,700 m²)
9,000 sf (1,100 m²)
- Dimensions 200 ft x 150 ft (60 m x 45 m)
Midblock skylight
180 ft x 50 ft (55 m x 20 m)
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© Empire State Development, courtesy of SOM -
© Empire State Development, courtesy of SOM