MAXIM

=**Best Fit** = by Maxim

=INVESTIGATION STAGE =

Size of lot:
Frontage (north): 200 feet, Side (east): 50 feet, Side (South): 200 feet, Side (West): 50 feet;


 * This "lot" is actually a massive overgrown area with several available lots within it. I've chosen one of them.

An NYC tax maps view of the area.
The neighborhood of the lot is a generally peaceful area aside from 63rd drive. The Crescents area lining the Southern end of my lot are elegant estates with a quiet atmosphere, which are a sort of prelude to the Forest Hills Gardens. 63rd drive is a bustling street filled with shops, commuters and entrances to subway stations. The LIRR overpasses 63rd drive. However there is no access station to the railine from the street.

**Needs assessment** :
**1. A description of what the neighborhood already has.**

The neighborhood of Rego Park/Western Forest Hills has pretty much everything that one would expect to find in a suburb of New York City. The residential area has century old tudor style single-family houses and connected townhouses. The school, P.S. 174 is quite large and also owns a large park and playground which are open to the public. Near my lot there's a 4-field baseball area with a community service center to the side. There are low-rise apartment buildings that line the fields. On 63rd drive, there's a large array of shops and restaurants (e.g. Tony's pizza, Sato, Azalov real estate, the Shalimar diner, Key Food, several barber shops and many cultural food markets). P.S. 139 is also on 63rd drive. The school accomodates a large playground as well and some basketabll courts. A simple, white-washed, Korean-Protestant church is located on 63rd drive. In the basement there's a soup kitchen. Some Bukharian-jewish synagogue members have also started a kosher soup kitchen nearby, in the basement of an Israeli restaurant.

**2. An analysis of what the neighborhood needs.**

The neighborhood has quite a few good services to its residents. However, there are a few things that it does not have. For one, the neighborhood lacks a spa with a pool and jacuzzi to aid people in fending off from the scorching New York summer. The neighborhood had a train station by its functioning LIRR branch, but it was dismantled in the 1930s for unknown reasons. The neighborhood could also use a synagogue or perhaps a Catholic church since it does have an increasing population of Russian-Jewish immigrants and Catholic followers.

**Buildings and architects that provide inspiration**
A futuristic airport terminal located at the John Lennon-Liverpool international airport in Liverpool, UK. I like the wavy roof and the glass walls, which allow sunlight to fill the building from dawn to dusk, giving a very positive effect both on psychology and physical health. Sunlight, when moderated by glass, is much better than fluorescent light for human skin.



The main terminal of Hartford, Connecticut's train station with a nice Victorian-style architecture. I like the stylish framework put into this station and the fact that people feel more comfortable with the rails, since they're not on a lowered level.

The Sports Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine has an elegant ceiling that I admire a lot. Unlike most buildings, this one has elegant lithographs, inscriptions, chandeliers and paint. This provides for a much more respectable public place. People will feel less tempted to destroy it, as opposed to the derelict NYC subway system.

A footbridge in Kyoto, Japan with extended plates, providing a very interesting visual effect. However, they also provide some protection from precipitation. With this, one can find another use for a footbridge. Elegant tiles in a subway system that is anything but elegant. Tiles provide for some of the most extravagent ornamentations. These tile murals are in the NYC subway system. =Works cited:=

//Liverpool John Lennon Airport  Flight Information and Car Parking//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

//Hartford CT | Restaurants, Events, Hotels, Arts & Jobs//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

"Sports Palace Kyiv." //Wikimapia - Let's Describe the Whole World!// Web. 11 Jan. 2011. .

"Kyoto Travel Guide - Wikitravel." //Free Worldwide Travel Guides - Wikitravel//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. [].

"Mta.info | Subway Map." //Mta.info | Home Page//. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. []. ==** Explanation of how investigation, has influence the design of a building for your neighborhood that makes the best fit. ** == With my investigation, I've realized what a majestic building truly looks like. The neighborhood that I'm working on lacks a majestic building. I feel that a building lower than 5 stories, but with majestic arches, beautiful and intricately designed will fit into the neighborhhod of Rego Park/Western Forest Hills, and if it's a train station or a sports complex, also be of use. People often look at 63rd drive and think, "Eh, nothing interesting here, very casual neighborhood". I'd like people to think differently. With elements of the Kyiv sports palace or the Hartford train station, a useful building that really stands out can be very influential to the neighborhood. It will improve the image of it, perhaps encourage more people to move their business and their lives to Western Forest Hills. I've been inspired, particularly by the Kyiv Sports Palace. I'm amazed at how majestic a public place can seem, with elegant paints, arches and intricate wall designs. All benefitting the people. I'm convinced that the only building that can incorporate absolutely all of these things is a train station.

Requirements:

 * The building must be architecturally significant and interesting.
 * The building must be a train station.
 * The building must give access to the LIRR.

Constraints:

 * The building cannot exceed the lot of 200 by 50 feet.
 * The building cannot be taller than 4 stories.
 * The building cannot interfere with the residents' lives, who live in the residential area that borders the lot.

** Design #1 **
==** The design is of a futuristic style inspired by my japanese footbridge and british airport terminal inspirations. It is to the side of the LIRR track and does not feature any modifications to the track. It is easily accessible by walking on the path to the station from 63rd drive. It is mostly made of concrete and metal. There's a ticket booth/concession stand, a covered waiting area under the arch of the main building for passengers, some decorative flower beds, a lounge/restaurant upstairs with a large window allowing a spectacular view of the far off Manhattan skyline, the tracks and 63rd drive. There are also doors for railroad workers on the back side of the building which allow access into state-of-the-art worker depots filled with supplies for railroad work and maintenance. **==

** Design #2 **
== ** The design follows a western, adobe-brick sort of style. It was inspired by Hartford station. Here, the station sandwiches the tracks on both sides. The two sides are connected by an underground tunnel accessible from buildings on both sides. The station has recreational benches, flower beds, a cafe hall, ticket booth, refreshment shop and worker depot. There are two water-tower like structures present by the worker depot. Each of these structures really serves as a gravel silo. Gravel is key to railroad work and maintenance and a storage place for it is required right? ** ==

** Design #3 **
== ** This station follows a much more Victorian-age architecture. It was inspired by the Kyiv Sports Palace and by Hartford station as well. It has a railway triforium lining its upper walls, covered by massive semi-roofs to protect people from the rain. A large stairway fit for busy hours leads down to a central platform. The track formation is actually split into two here in order to slow down the speeding trains which have caused many tragedies at other stations along the LIRR track. On the platform, there's a small ticket booth and there are some flower beds as well. This station is much more basic in terms of recreation. It's made for the bustling, speeding rush-hour environment. There are no restaurants, coffee shops or refreshment stands. The building is purely designed for transportation. However transporttation in style. The purposely-chaotic green windows along the walls, the bending, strange-angle wall vertexes, and the triforium are all elements of elegant design. ** ==

The best design is design #2 which is made in a Western, adobe fashion.
==** Justify Your Choice: This design is the best because it is most practical; it doesn't involve any complex angles, building elements, arches or anything like that. It mixes in with the neighborhood best. It isn't very large and the brick mixes with the adjacent apartment buildings and tudor houses. The design is also the most enjoyable for people. Although it is simple. It serves as a great ease and benefit to railroad workers, a treat to commuters with its shops and dining area and, like any station for Rego Park/Western Forest Hills, it connects the neighborhood with the crucial LIRR. ** ==