Dramatic Visions For LA's Transit Hub Unveiled, But to What End?

Sam Lubell reports on the speculative visions unveiled this week by six teams of international design talent competing to develop a Master Plan for LA's historic Union Station and its surrounding properties.

2 minute read

April 27, 2012, 11:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Lubell describes the "strange state of affairs" surrounding the competition to work with Metro, the regional transportation authority, to develop the Union Station Master Plan, and the recent public unveiling of "vision boards" from the six competing teams which, as was openly noted, have no relevance to the competition, the purview of the future Master Plan, or what could actually get built.

At Wednesday's show and tell, presenters from the multinational teams, such as Ben Van Berkel, of UN Studio, and Renzo Piano, were given five minutes each to describe their speculative visions for how the neighborhood around the station (stretching from downtown to the LA River) might look in the year 2050.

While imaginative and stimulating, as Lubell notes, "The boards, presented in front of a packed house at the station yesterday, will hold no weight in the team selection. That choice will be made, by the end of June, on the much more nuts-and-bolts basis of qualifications, interviews, data collection, draft alternatives and implementation strategies, aka 'scope of work.'"

What then was their purpose? "'It's about fun and inspiration and the future of Los Angeles,' said Martha Welborne, Metro Executive Director, Countywide Planning, of the vision boards. She appears to be fighting an uphill battle to get the bureaucratic and engineering-driven agency to embrace design. 'It's about opening up their imagination before they have to get serious about the limitations,' she noted, of the architect/engineer teams' proposals. 'These are not going to get built.'"

Thursday, April 26, 2012 in The Architect's Newspaper

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Green bike share bikes parked in a row on a commercial street with outdoor dining and greenery.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive

Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.

30 minutes ago - Cities Today

View from inside car's driver seat while driving.

Car Designs Make it Harder to See Pedestrians

Blind spots created by thicker pillars built to withstand rollover crashes are creating dangerous conditions for people outside vehicles.

1 hour ago - Bloomberg CityLab

Red and white "Wildfire Evacuation Route" sign on signpost.

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions

An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

July 10 - The Markup

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Home and Land Services Coordinator

Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA