Design accolade for Washington Union Station development

Amtrak’s Washington Union Station Master Plan has been recognised with a design award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Burnham Place – a proposed commercial development for the area surrounding the station – has received the Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design.

The Washington Union Station Master Plan sets out Amtrak’s vision to upgrade the 106-year-old station, allowing it to accommodate three times as many passengers and twice as many trains within the same station footprint.

The new station will be constructed in four phases over a 15 to 20-year period.

At the center of the plan is the creation of a new train shed, designed by architectural firm HOK, that will integrate transportation services with the surrounding Burnham Place development.

Named after the man who designed the original Union Station, Daniel Burnham, the project has been developed by Shalom Baranes Associates on behalf of Akridge who is working in partnership with Amtrak to develop the master plan.

Stephen Gardner, Amtrak Northeast Corridor infrastructure and investment development vice president, said: “Burnham Place is an integral part of our plan for the future of Union Station, creating a new urban center in downtown Washington that connects communities to the region’s premier transportation hub as well as new commercial, retail, residential and public space.”