Upon first entrance, the main concourse of Grand Central Station is an incredibly large, vast space, almost overwhelming with the amount of people rushing around trying to get to where they are meant to be, especially when you yourself don’t know your way around the station. I seemed to be the only one without somewhere else to be. However, with time the space begins to shrink and the people don’t seem to be moving as fast.

The color scheme of Grand Central is quite interesting to me, from a design perspective. All of the cold shiny walls and the main structures such as the information booths and lighting are the same  very muted, beige yellow tone. However, the placement of the lighting fixtures saves the space and keeps it very dynamic. Individual chandeliers cast shadows in the large arches of the halls lining the main room, making them seem even larger and more grand. The windows are the most eye catching elements of the station. They are incredibly large and looming, with so much detail in their design. In addition, the blue taken from the outside ties into the turquoise shade of the very ceiling that these large structures point toward. Not many people in Grand Central are looking up, yet the ceiling is quite beautiful. The majority of the ceiling shows off an incredibly large mural of constellations, the color of which matches the walls in keeping with the color scheme, and it is complete with small lights that accentuate the stars of the constellations. The people of Grand Central also lend a hand to the overall muted tonal color scheme. Because it is winter the figures hurrying past are covered from head to toe, most all of them in black, which causes them all to blend together in a sea of travelers. However, upon arriving on the lower level, similarly muted in color and slightly more muted in lighting, one man in particular stood out to me, though he was just as bundled as the rest he was a burst of color in the dulled room, dressed in a bright red coat with a green backpack almost matching in brightness.

Grand Central has a way of being bustling with noise and conversation without being at all too overwhelming. Though everyone is talking and going about their business it is very easy to concentrate on things other than the noise, and to concentrate on particular aspects of the noise such as individual interactions between people passing by. I feel that the whispering gallery accentuates this quality quite well, allowing you to whisper to someone on the other side of the hall and have them hear you clearly amidst the hustle and bustle of the station. Grand Central is also home to a wide variety of smells, much like the city itself. Once in the back areas of the station, such as the shops and the lower dining level, your sense of smell is overloaded. The shopping area smells of everything from crisp book pages to a variety of lotions, changing with almost every step. Once on the lower level of the station you are immersed in a plethora of different types of food, and everything from pretzel and lemonade stands to bakeries take over your senses.

The designer of Grand Central Station had to have put a lot of research into the layout of the area. The way that Grand Central is set up is incredibly efficient. The main concourse shows off how grand the station truly is, drawing you in with its lights and liveliness. Research must also have been done on the area and what most people would be using the station for, because the platforms are very clearly labeled and easily accessible, yet set up in order to be completely out of the way and can easily be ignored by those simply there to enjoy some shopping and hanging out. The way the rest of the station is played out pulls you through the patterns of hallways, the station seeming to only get bigger as you more through it going on and on. The levels loop you around the shops and restaurants in order to ensure you don’t miss the chance to experience it all. The way the light changes is very well thought out and planned. When I visited the station it was just starting to get dark outside, and though the sky changed steadily as it does when night begins to fall, the station never seemed to change it’s level of light, despite having large windows, and I barely noticed the change, which caused me to lose sense of time, as if the station were in its own little bubble. Thinking deeply about things such as the design of the layout, the subtle changes in lighting, and the types of people accessing the station at any given time has allowed me to gain more appreciation for Grand Central Station. The design decisions and research that have gone into the curation of this place are extensive and the station achieves both its purpose, to provide a place of transportation for New Yorkers and its visitors, and multitasking as a social hub for those wishing to escape into something different.