A first glimpse of the early station designs for the $5.3-billion Eglinton Crosstown shows a minimalist vision designed to let in the light. The reveal by Daoust Lestage, IBI Architecture and Metrolinx took place at the Toronto Design Review Panel last week, revealing glass-box entrances as the signature identifying feature of the 15 underground stations on the tunnelled portion of the Crosstown. Each underground station will cost between $80 million and $100 million; ten street-level stops, costing $3 million to $5 million, will carry the same Crosstown identity, distinct from the TTC and GO Transit. It will be about five years until the stations are built and the designs are far from final, cautions Metrolinx.

Station exteriors

Each underground station will have a trademark glass pavilion entrance. Adjacent will be a “technical box,” a textured, cast-concrete building that acts as the station basement, where the vents emerge from track level and the HVAC and electrical are stored.

All the stations will be a variation on the theme, depending on whether it is a corner location, mid-block or one of three interchange stations where the LRT meets the subway — at Kennedy, Yonge and Allen. In some cases the glass structure will be slanted and stations will be embedded into the streetscape.

Interchange stations will have more generous plazas and landscape plantings. All stations will incorporate an “urban carpet,” a kind of welcome mat that carries riders from outside to the interior with large-format pavers.

Station interiors

The boxes and skylights will maximize the penetration of natural light down to platform level, about three storeys below the street.

Interior construction materials will be unified in colour. See-through building materials will allow light to flow and provide an additional safety feature. Dropped ceilings will be used to conceal the mechanical features of the stations and keep the acoustics comfortable. Public art will be incorporated into the stations and designers are working on a wayfinding system that works in unison with the TTC’s.

Riders will move between station levels on escalators, stairs and accessible elevators. Washrooms, doorways and turnstiles will also be accessible.

On the street

A green track of grass or other hardy plants such as sedum means the LRT will run on a ribbon of green between the stops at Leslie and Birchmount. The green will stretch from curb to curb of the right-of-way, rather than just down the middle.

Each street-level stop will feature a similar protective canopy, with lighting embedded in a flat ceiling surface. The same canopies will also be used at underground stations for bus shelters and bike parking. Advertising, maps, fare machines, vehicle arrival information, benches and other information features will be integrated into the stops.

The on-street shelters won’t be made entirely of glass, but they will be as transparent as possible as a safety feature. Platform widths will vary according to the road width in the area and the anticipated passenger volumes.

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What’s in a name

Metrolinx is asking for input on the naming of seven Crosstown stops — six above ground and one at street level — where the relevant cross-street names are already in use for other TTC stations. The public has until Friday, Oct. 9 to comment.

Names being considered include: Silverthorne (at Keele); Fairbank (at Dufferin); Forest Hill (at Bathurst); Oriole Park (at Avenue); Science Centre (at Don Mills); Leaside (at Bayview) and Aga Khan & Eglinton (at Ferrand). Metrolinx is trying to make sure each station name is unique. Names should be simple, logical and permanent so that they will be relevant for the life of the transit system. Street names, intersections, landmarks and neighbourhoods are naming priorities.

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