Castro Valley BART Station
The Castro Valley station has its platform located in the highway median above an underground concourse. The underground concourse is connected to the station entrance by an excavated tunnel that is as short as possible and opens onto a small plaza in the shape of an amphitheater. The entrance is conveniently located for access to AC Transit bus service and attended automobiles.
During the planning stage, the community of Castro Valley expressed a desire for a historical tone and cited a cherished veteran’s memorial building. Residents admitted that the town had lost most of its historic structures. The station’s designer, Robin Chiang, developed an architecture that suggested a history of building and rebuilding over a long time period. By adapting architectural treatments from different societies and eras into the contemporary components of a BART station he created a design that looked and felt familiar from opening day on.
Project Information:
- Owner: Bay Area Rapid Transit District
- Location: Castro Valley, California
- Cost of Project: $23 million
- Completion Year: 1996
- Design Team: Robin Chiang, Neil Nott, Thomas Pan, David Sturges, David Ficklin, Mischa McCue Hoy and Leah Haygood (landscape architecture).
Related Sites:
- BART > Castro Valley Station > News | Chronology
The official site for BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit- BART at Wikipedia
Information on BART’s history, system detail, governance, transit connection and more…- Information at Wikipedia for Castro Valley, California | BART Station
Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States.
2 Comments
By mark on Jul 3, 2008
Am in the architecture industry myself and I use the station everyday. I notice the unique finish of the concrete paving. It has very small black pebbles. What is this concrete finish called and how do i specify it? What material are those small black pebbles? I like it very much, very simple and functional. Thanks for any help.
Mark
By Robin Chiang on Jul 3, 2008
It’s been 16 years so I don’t recall all the specifics. The flooring had to be durable, cost effective and slip resistant. The stained concrete flooring has a broom finish with, in some areas, decomposed granite that was broadcast over the poured concrete. Thanks for asking.
Robin