Project Objective: To design a cruise terminal at a site in Detroit, MI. The cruise terminal had to support  program such as security check-in, departure and arrival gates. This was the final project of design studio 2 and the third building design project of architecture school. As before, this design is an evolution of concepts learned from the previous projects.

My solution was a terminal the shape of the site, leaving space for a walkway in front of the terminal along the river. For convenience to the passengers I designed a single level terminal. Since all passengers were to board the cruise boat from the second level, a ramp was designed to allow cars to drop passengers off directly to the second level, allowing a direct path towards the departure gates.

Much effort was put towards the user interface of the building (layout) so that it was most convenient and efficient for the users. The principles of user centric design is most commonly related to industrial design but can also be applied to architectural design. Buildings can be considered a product. In this sense architectural design can be viewed as specialization of industrial design, where the experience of the end user is what is most important.

Incorporating the rooftop plaza was the last step in completing the design. A place where people could watch the cruise ships arriving and departing. Building audience seating into the rooftop  affected the ceiling of the floor below, causing it to slowly rise until it reached a skylight. The audience seating served the dual purpose of function for the rooftop, and aesthetic beauty for the ceiling of the floor below.