The Municipal Art Society of New York presented three visions of Grand Central Terminal at its October Summit for New York City, in a program entitled The Next 100. These proposals, submitted by Foster + Partners; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and WXY Architecture + Urban Design, attempt to look into the future uses of the venerable rail terminal. All three focus attention on pedestrian uses, with SOM’s vision including a moving observation deck above the existing historic terminal building. WXY’s scheme highlights connections to the neighborhoods surrounding Grand Central Terminal, while that of Foster + Partners reconfigures the urban fabric around the station to accommodate new pedestrian and traffic patterns.
In a press release for the event, Claire Weisz, AIA, principal at WXY, said, "The plan for Midtown’s near future needs to make the Grand Central neighborhood a place people enjoy being in, not just running through.”
This article has been updated: Grand Central Terminal is the correct name of the train station in New York; Grand Central Station refers to the post office branch. We regret the error.
