MAD Architects has announced the completion of the Jiaxing Train Station, the first transportation infrastructure project developed by the architecture office. Located in the historic city of Jiaxing, 100 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, the project involves the replacement of a dysfunctional station that had stood at the site between 1995 and 2019. As China has developed significantly in terms of urbanization, its train stations have grown into complicated, widespread, and uninviting infrastructures. Through their project, MAD Architects strive to return to a human scale, to create a facility that responds to the newest developments in transportation technology, while creating spaces that are comfortable and easy to navigate for its users.
The original Jiaxing Train Station was built in 1907 and destroyed a few decades later. A new station was built in 1995, but it was equipped with outdated and insufficient passenger facilities in the context of a quickly developing city. MAD Architects intervention recreates the image of the 1907 station and couples it with a “floating” metal roof to accommodate the expanded facilities. The reconstruction of the old station house is based on large amounts of historical data, and it uses approximately 210,000 red and green locally sourced bricks.
The overall design strives to offer a more human-centric and efficient solution. Behind the recreated station, a glass façade creates a clean and minimal expression. The interior is also understated, clad in clad with anodized aluminum honeycomb panels in the waiting hall, ceiling, and tunnel walls to absorb excess noise. All utilities are subtly embedded into the overall expression.
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MAD Architects Reimagines a Former Cement Factory Warehouse in Shanghai with a Floating ArkMost of the main functions are organized underground to allow for the expansion of its forest-like surroundings. Over 1,500 trees have been planted across the site. A square in the southern part of the site organizes buildings dedicated to culture and commerce. These functional areas are scattered across the hills, appearing as floating rings, while a central lawn is expected to become a venue for various outdoor events such as concerts and festivals.
We should rethink and redefine the spatial patterns of such transportation infrastructure buildings in China. We can break away from the common pursuit of grandiose monumental buildings and make them urban public spaces with transport functions, natural ecology and cultural life, where citizens are happy to go, stay, meet, and enjoy. - MAD founding partner Ma Yansong
The master plan is expected to welcome 5.28 million people per year by 2025. A variety of transportation modes are incorporated, in addition to commercial functions across the southern part of the site. Careful traffic planning and the vertical use of space allow MAD’s scheme to meet the expanding passenger needs while emphasizing the connection to the environment and using this large infrastructure project as an opportunity for urban revitalization.
Recently, MAD Architects unveiled the designs for the Nanhai Art Center in Foshan City, Guangdong, a community and culture center featuring a wave-like form with a new public gateway to the waterfront. The office is also anticipating the opening of Rotterdam’s Museum of Migration, a project that includes the revitalization of a 16,000-square-meter industrial building that once facilitated the journey of millions of migrants in the 19th and 20th centuries.
