The seamless and sensitive conversion of an existing bus interchange into a mixed-use development with two blocks of 40-storey public housing, a library, town council office and commercial space, all the while retaining the transit functions, brought its own challenges, the greatest of which was the public process and a balancing of stake-holder goals. The transit functions, retained at ground level, are covered by a podium and structural columns that maintain the openness of the facility, while allowing for the location of several storeys of commercial and car-park functions above. A rooftop garden on this structure ties the commercial and public spaces to the housing towers and serves to underscore the hierarchy of use while facilitating pedestrian movement.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture