The Anonymous Widower

Could This Be A Ground-Breaking Idea In Station Design?

This is an aerial view of the winning design proposal for Oxford station, by AHR

AHR’s Proposal For Oxford Station

It looks from the visualisation,that you have a wide covered bridge across the tracks, with a restaurant and other customer facilities on top.

I think it’s simple, but brilliant and if it gets built as designed, it will be an enormous asset to Oxford.

This Google Map shows the current station.

The Current Oxford Station

Note the white building to the north of the station on the East side, which is the Parcels Office, which is going to be turned into new platforms for Chiltern. In the new design, it looks like they are covered with car parks, with green grass roofs.

The simple concept of a wide covered bridge with a restaurant and other passenger facilities on top, has advantages.

• It turns a station into a fully-functional meeting point for the town or city.
• It could give spectacular views of some historic places.
• I suspect, that like Custom House station, it could be built in a nice clean weatherproof factory and put together like Lego.
• I feel, that it could be erected around and over a working railway without interrupting trains or passengers.

The concept would work in various places on the UK and other rail networks.

• Chelmsford – A major station on a cramped site.
• Coventry – Any poor architect couyld create something better than the current complete crap.
• Durham – Spectacular views of the Castle and Cathedral

It would also work on some of those wonderful stations, where the rail lines are squezed along the coast.

I think that AHR’s concept will be copied extensively.

March 25, 2016 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Architecture, Oxford Station, Stations