Station Design Guide | Architectural Design Considerations

Design of Rail Stations | Architecture and Design

In our previous article, “HSR Station design Guide“, we listed out some of the core station areas and discussed the design considerations to be taken while designing “Station Crossings” and “Platform design”.

Important Station areas to be designed:

Now we will move on with our discussion on the design considerations to be taken for the following station areas (elements):

  • Platforms doors and screens
  • Entrances and Exits
  • Direction of the opening of doors

Design of Platforms doors and screens

Modern metro systems have incorporated glazed screens along the edges of the platform.

This system of designing screen doors was incorporated in cold countries in order to maintain the temperature of the station.

These kind of screen door systems have been used in Europe and America. The underground station in London is pretty popular. The extension of the underground station has been worked on with a point to introduce the platform screen doors. See the picture of the Canary Wharf station in London.

Design of Station entrances and Exits

The width of the entrances and exits should be large enough to allow efficient circulation of a large number of passengers in and out. They must be designed keeping the emergency conditions in mind.

Every country has its own safety codes for the design of entrances and exits.

Apart from concentrating on the width of the entrances, it is necessary to remember that we are architectural designers and making the entrances aesthetically appealing is also our aim.

The number of entrances have to be carefully designed so as to cater for the different sides of the railway route and at the same time, the design should be economical. It should not exceed the calculated budget.

Direction of the opening of doors

Earlier, the doors used for the railway station opened outwards which is actually the correct method of placing the doors.

In 1918, there was an air raid in Paris. People panicked and rushed to the station. 66 persons died in the crush while trying to get shelter at the station.

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