130th Station

Thanks to the firm’s broad experience with transit, the technical issues on this light rail station were quickly resolved, but the design took a new direction halfway through documenting the project.

Rejecting the rusting-steel enclosures of initial proposals as too industrial-looking, community reviewers wanted the station to express a more naturalistic tone, in keeping with a waterway restoration project at nearby Goff Creek. Tiscareno redesigned the plaza to use pre-cast, colored concrete panels inset with varying river rock, making the entry stations resemble a dry creek bed. Polycarbonate lenses were used to cover voids cast into the panels and provide additional visual interest, as if light were reflecting from the water. Rain-chains made of taut links and splash cups add a degree of whimsy.

These and other reworked design details met—and in some cases encouraged the client to update—transit standards, and several details are likely to be incorporated into future Sound Transit projects. The firm also led consultant coordination, overseeing and answering consultant questions during design and construction.