"YOLO"
arch I and II are so ugly, they should have skimped on the va/md stations and should have ensured all DC stations have the original waffle design.
The decision to bastardize the classic Harry Weese 22 coffer design in favor of the 6 and 4 coffer designs was made after the construction of the 22 coffer stations in Maryland and Virginia. The reason for the bastardization was to reduce costs as the 6 and 4 coffer designs require less concrete.
If I had it my way all of the arched vault stations would have been of the 22 coffer design. This would have included the building of the Forest Glen, Wheaton and Fort Totten stations as 2 track island platform stations with 22 coffered arched vaults.
to be honest I'm really not a fan of an open vault design to begin with.
They would have looked much nicer today had the aggregate in the concrete mix been mined from the pits around Dulles Airport intended of from the pits in Princes Georges County.
As I said in my comment at GGW I don't like the lame terms used to describe the arch vault designs. The stations in subway are 22 coffer, 6 coffer and 4 coffer. The arched concrete canopies are identified as gull wing canopy in WMATA literature as well. The stations with the concrete flat roofs with the skylight down the centers were designed by Harry Weese, The vast majority of the station with flat roofs have them because it was impractical to use gull wing canopies. There are 5 station that don't have gull wing canopies that could have had them, Rockville, Naylor Road, West Hyattsville, Collage Park and Greenbelt. East Falls Church could have also been built with a gull wing canopy as well but I believe was not because of the sound walls.
What Matt Johnson described as a gambrel is not a true gambrel roof, typical contemporary gambrel roofs have 4 facets. Classical gambrel roofs have 6 facets with the 4th and 5th facets being the small slopes at the bottom of the roof to increase the eve over hang. The roofs above mezzanines in the Silver line stations have 6 facets that are of nearly equal length.
contemporary gambrel roof.
Classical gambrel roof.
John in the sand box of Maryland's eastern shore.
