SVRT BART Extension, Downtown San Jose Station

VALLEY TRANSIT AUTHORITY (VTA)

AVA’s Role: Anil Verma Associates, Inc. (AVA) was responsible for the planning and architectural design of the Downtown San Jose underground station and its integration with the complex network of existing utilities and structures in the heart of downtown San Jose. Each of the station’s three entrance portals presented a distinct design and coordination challenge. The primary entrance was planned within an existing historic building and required specialized retrofit work to maintain functionality and ensure passenger safety. A second entrance was coordinated with the design of a condominium development, while the third was planned to provide both public access and a connection to a future major development.

silicon valley rapid transit (svrt), BART EXTENSION DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE STATIOn

Description: The station design reflects San Jose’s identity as a center of technology, creativity, and the arts, while also recognizing the city’s social, cultural, and architectural history. Each entrance portal was designed with materials, forms, and scale appropriate to its surrounding context. Within the concourse, a perforated metal-panel ceiling forms a continuous wave along the length of the space, symbolizing the dynamic evolution of Silicon Valley. Passengers move beneath the undulating ceiling toward elliptical openings containing the stairs and escalators that connect the concourse to the platform level. Curved glass guardrails surround these openings, reinforcing the smooth flow of passenger circulation and expressing openness to new ideas. The terrazzo flooring incorporates a complementary undulating pattern that relates visually to the curved forms of the concourse ceiling.