Network Rail | Competition Entry, UK 2020

The UK rail network has a rich history encompassing a diverse range of stations. They vary widely in location, scale and function as well as the era in which they were built. The most successful, that leave an impression on travellers, connect with them on a personal level, always featuring human scaled elements. They lie between product design, architecture and public realm design.

Like its predecessors, this proposal begins with a simple form shaped by a range of physical and functional features. While every site is unique these constraints

will be common: structure, shade, shelter, enclosure, utilities, facilities etc. The resulting base module is then replicated and deployed in a site specific manner that responds to local context and requirements. By having a simple, flexible and robust base module; or 'seed'; assemblies could be infinitely adaptable.

The form of our ‘seed’ springs from columns safely offset from a platform edge. As it rises it reaches out towards the platform to safely shelter waiting passengers. To create equilibrium it simultaneously bends in the opposite direction (at times towards a parallel track). This simple structural act is both elegant and efficient, easily emphasised by an organic form. The strength of this expressive ‘seed’ is that once spread along a line it will inevitably create a recognizable common identity.