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O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0 | 59 Cooksville GO Station and Parking Structure P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E SY M E T RO L I N X T rain stations have historically been prime opportunities for architects to flex their creative muscles and develop structures that act "as a destination, a beacon in the urban fabric," according to Jamie Van Dyk, partner at WalterFedy Inc. The Cooksville GO Station and Parking Structure is a Metrolinx project that is being delivered in part- nership with Infrastructure Ontario and once complete, will improve cus- tomer experience and make it easier for customers to access the station. The new Cooksville GO Station will serve as a transit hub in a central Mississauga neighbourhood, connect- ing residents to GO transit, Mississauga transit, and the future Hurontario LRT. NORR provided the conceptual design of the two components, while WalterFedy developed design strat- egies; the outcome, as realized by EllisDon Design Build Inc., is not only a facility that will help custom- ers more efficiently access GO services when the project is completed by the end of 2020, but also a significant architectural expression. NORR's concept for the six-storey, 1,900 car parking structure focused on a layered envelope for visual interest and to shield surrounding residential development from car headlights. The precast structure is wrapped by an expanded aluminum mesh, which is inflected and fractured by the vehi- cle entry points, the glass stair towers, and a pedestrian bridge. This larger folding texture is complemented by a finer texture of vertical slot openings that provide views from within the structure; an additional inner skin of woven stainless steel mesh serves as a guard for pedestrians. The adjoining station, while shar- ing some of the parking structure's composition and material quali- ties (its inverted pyramidal canopy and butterfly roof relate directly to the larger structure's veil), is a more formal and symmetrical configura- tion. Its tall, glazed volume provides clerestory lighting across the central circulation spine, flanked by lower metal panel and glazed volumes of retail, customer amenity, and back- of-house programs. On a practical level, NORR, Metrolinx, and Infrastructure Ontario's decision to consolidate the site's extensive surface parking area into a single structure frees up land for future development and better man- ages the urban heat island effect. And from an environmental perspective, the new facilities tie into a stormwa- ter storage and management system, which along with the expansive sedum roof of the parking structure form the principle components of the design's sustainable strategy targeting LEED Gold V4 certification. COOKSVILLE GO STATION AND PARKING STRUCTURE by ROBIN BRUNET continued on page 62 ▼ 7:39 AM 11:59 AM 2:15 PM 1:42 PM 12:09 PM 10:42 AM