New Life into Underused Structure

NEW LONDON, CT

This project re-imagines the use of New London’s iconic train station, a building designed by HH Richardson in 1887. Arguably one of Connecticut’s most important buildings, Union Station occupies a key site in downtown New London at the end of State Street, facing both Parade Plaza and the active waterfront of the Thames River. The owners of the station were looking to breathe new life into the underused structure, and asked us to consider incorporating a new National Coast Guard Museum into the site. The proposal maintains the functions of the station on the ground floor and adds a new land-side building facing Parade Plaza to create a glassy, welcoming lobby and visitor’s center. Upper floors of the station are used as exhibit space and a skybridge over the train tracks links the land-side building with a water-side building on the river. The water-side building is sited on an open plaza and protrudes into the river like a pier, welcoming visitors onto Coast Guard vessels. The roof of the building includes a heliport where visitors can climb aboard a Coast Guard helicopter. The Coast Guard was so intrigued by the plan - one that integrated the new museum with an active downtown location, one that capitalized on guaranteed visitorship from train and ferry passengers, one that created a vigorous museum experience that could tell the story of the Coast Guard – that they bought the building. The Coast Guard is now moving forward with planning their national museum on the site.