Projects by Name

After taking the helm of the New Haven Railroad, Patrick McGinnis launched a redesign of the organization's logo, trains and passenger stations. On Florence Knoll's recommendation, McGinnis hired Breuer to design new stations for New London, CT. and Rye, NY. Breuer invited his former student, Eduardo Catalano, who had been experimenting with hyperbolic paraboloid structures, to serve as a consultant on the project. Breuer envisioned a series of four concrete shell structures, each supported by a central column, that would serve as the roof of the glass-walled station building and provide shelter for passengers waiting on the outdoor platform. A smaller structure across the tracks protected the entrance to the below-grade passenger tunnel. Alternating stripes of gray roofing materials decorated the roof surface of both buildings. Access was also provided by a sleek, curving overpass-pedestrian ramp. The project was halted when McGinnis left the New Haven Railroad to become president of the Boston and Maine Railroad. However, Breuer was able to utilize similar hyperbolic paraboloids for the Hunter College library building completed in 1960.