RIBA and Network Rail recently announced the winner of the Re-imagining Railways design competition, which invited architects, engineers and designers to rethink small and medium-sized train stations to improve the travel experience. The winning design, signed by Edinburgh-based architectural practice 7N Architects, features a reinterpreted clock tower serving as a local landmark and a modular station layout that can be adapted to a variety of sites.
7N Architects’design proposes a flexible system with a minimum of parts, which can be integrated across urban and rural landscapes. The platform canopies feature translucent photovoltaic panels, which would provide most of the station’s energy, aligning with Network Rail’s aspirations to be carbon neutral by 2050. Designed to hold a civic purpose, the clock tower is meant to become a meeting place for the locals. The straightforward design of the station is intended to provide an easily replicable project, significantly improving Britain’s railway infrastructure.
Across Britain, there are over 2,000 small to medium stations, making up 80% of all those on Britain’s railway. The stations vary significantly in terms of design and amenities; therefore, the scope of the competition was improving the overall quality and travel experience and finding a suitable and flexible design for the new-build stations, which will accommodate the projected increase in demand for rail travel.
The winning project was selected out of 200 entries, and the shortlisted architecture practices included Atkins and Pascall + Watson from London, Toronto’s Workshop Architecture and Miguel Angel Carrasco Arquitetura of Rio de Janeiro. The design team led by 7N Architects will now work closely with Network Rail to further develop the design to meet specific technical requirements.
