future cities - new london...

Transport Oriented DevelopmentFuture Cities

| June 2016

1 I Transport Oriented Development, Future Cities Transport Oriented Development, Future Cities I 2

Fossil fuelled cars have a huge effect on the design and character of our cities. The car affects the physical environment enormously, has a detrimental effect on air quality and contributes significantly to climate change.

If we want to attract people out of their cars onto Metro Systems and rail in the UK and elsewhere we need to make the travelling experience safe, secure, reliable and comfortable but also exciting and attractive.

Weston Williamson have an extensive portfolio of proven delivery of such projects and have used this experience to begin to imagine a modern civilised city without cars.

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02Weston Williamson have great experience in designing transport projects of the highest quality, though as will become evident we are also mindful of cost and delivery. We are currently working on High Speed stations in London, Birmingham and Manchester in the UK, China and Singapore. Our work includes setting the vision for the stations and the surrounding development opportunities.

High Speed Station design is different to other forms of travel because of the limited dwell times, the length of trains and the numbers of passengers.

One of the most important aspects of the project is the re-generational effect of the infrastructure in attracting investment in the area.

Urban developments and high speed stations offer fantastic opportunities to create new places. These will be the sustainable communities of the future.

High Speed Rail will transform transport and communities in the UK, as it does worldwide.


03Miami is one of the coolest most glamorous cities in the world and our design for the metromover will help cement that. The station is clad in ETFE pillows on a steel lattice structure and the station will glow as the train arrives and departs. What is suitable for Miami will not be relevant for all High Speed Rail stations but we will establish the vision to help create something just as beautiful and exciting.

We promise that the journey to arriving at the right design solution will be fun, though challenging for all involved. Every city has its own identity with a distinct character and the vision for their stations needs to allow this individuality to shine through.


04Weston Williamson are one of the leading architectural thinkers in transport orientated development. We have initiated a year long campaign in the UK and Australia to promote more and better TOD opportunities and encourage politicians, planners, economists, environmentalists - all involved in the future of our communities to think about sustainable development.

The image opposite is a proposal for transport orientated development around station and bridges across the River Thames in London.

The housing tower helps support the bridge both structurally and financially.


05On the Jubilee Line project there was a clause within our contract

to say that whatever we designed for London Bridge Station could be used on other stations on the line. The client Roland Paoletti

described his approach like a piece of jazz where he wanted each architect to improvise and then he would pull the piece together.

This approach worked well and has been used on the other projects. Clear design direction need to be established.

The Cladding system which we developed along with the seats and services box were all used extensively throughout the Jubilee Line

project. Our concept was to develop an aesthetic which would build on the Victorian engineering of the existing London Bridge Station.

The process of rationalisation is central to Weston Wil l iamson’s work: rationalisation of programme, materials and architectural form. The rational resolution of the complex web of logistical and technical constraints required by the new station for the extended Jubilee Line at London Bridge - one of London’s busiest public transport interchanges - is typical of their work. Richard Burdett, London School of Economics


06Our vision for the London Luton Airport is to envisage a new type of terminal which re-captures the glamour of travel.

We propose new spatial experiences and the chance to escape from the hermetically sealed environment to outdoor areas with trees and plants. Facilities would include spas, hairdressers, barbers, to re-create a true high street rather than just shopping. Travelling used to be an exciting adventure, too often nowadays it is a dreary necessity. We must re-create the interest and excitement by designing great places.

To ensure that High Speed and Metros are successful we need to provide world class facilities, speed of travel, simplicity and connectivity.


07Our new station at Pudding Mill Lane is built to a modest budget

but is refined and elegant. With a limited palette of materials there is an order and calmness to the station which was built to serve

the 2012 Olympic Games site in London.

WestonWil l iamson + Partners have produced a simple, elegant and well-coordinated design that Crossrail

is proud to have delivered at Pudding Mil l Lane. We believe the Station provides a strong and integrated

addition to the regeneration legacy of the Olympic Park and provides DLR users with a high quality passenger

environment and the Operator with a station we can manage and maintain eff iciently and effectively.

Julian Robinson, Head of Architecture, Crossrail LTD

A refreshing and elegant design, pushing

a new benchmark/future prototype for the

Docklands Light Rail.

LBN Design Review Panel


08The taxi facility at Paddington was designed to relate to the magnificent adjacent station designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel which is an iconic heritage structure.

It is an important part of our work to create modern structures for infrastructure that fit within the heritage context.

The project is a major example of how a skil led architectural and engineering team can overcome challenges to deliver a signif icant work of architectural infrastructure. This is a showcase for Brit ish design in the service of the public.RIBA Award Citation


09For the Klang Valley metro in Kuala Lumpur we designed 12

overground stations. The plan and section of many of the stations was similar but the cladding related to the local environment to

provide interest and variety along the route.

All the stations are naturally ventilated and feature a louvred cladding style in a variety of materials and colours (and sometimes shapes) to

create a recognisable brand but with distinct contextual variations.

Every station was designed by Weston Williamson and was conceived to be distinctive for the local environment. There is a common

approach which will help establish an identifiable brand for the project.


10For the East London Line Weston Williamson were the lead architects establishing the vision for 4 new stations and 12 refurbished stations together with the depot, maintenance and cleaning facilities and the operational centre. We established a clear brand using a limited number of materials and elements which would allow each architect to propose their own ideas for particular stations or ancillary buildings yet fit into a common brand identity.

“It manages to accommodate all the functional requirements within the existing brick arches that are fitted out with stainless elements reminiscent of a “Donald Judd” sculpture.” Hackney Design Awards 2010


11When we first started work on the Jubilee Line Station at London

Bridge in 1991 the focus was on delivering better transport - moving people around faster, better and more comfortably. The

benefits of the project as a major catalyst for urban regeneration later became apparent and the project was the bench mark for

future transport provision. Our proposals for Hong Kong include a new high speed station with substantial over-site development.

We believe this is the future of our cities if we are to be less reliant on cars in an effort to combat climate change.


12Dubai will host the World Expo in 2020 and Weston Williamson are working on designs for the metro extension which will serve the site.

Weston Williamson are working for one of the contractor teams competing to build the new extension of the metro. Weston Williamson have over 30 years experience of high quality design and also delivery of infrastructure projects often working for the client to develop the vision but also working for the contractor to deliver the completed project on time and on budget to a high quality.


13Weston Williamson enter architectural competition as a way

of developing our design and presentation skills and also our processes as the strict deadlines ensure the work has to be

produced to a high quality in a timely manner. This competition was for a vertical zoo which is not something that architects are asked

to consider very often, an important part of the competition was ensuring public transport was integrated into the project.


An important part of Weston Williamson’s work involves working with artists to create exceptional spaces. We would propose that the integration of art in High Speed Stations is done from the early stage as in our experience artists contribute best when involved from the start. At Woolwich we are working with local artists to incorporate images from the history of the site and former arsenal factories and local industries. It will provide a rich and unique context.

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This photograph shows Paddington Crossrail Station under construction and is included here to stress the importance of

build-ability. Weston Williamson’s vision is inspirational and creative but considers cost and delivery based on our experience of the

complex nature of large infrastructure projects and the pressures to which they are subject over a long period of consultation and

contractual authorisation.

The strap line for Crossrail is established in their requirement for “a world class affordable railway”. Weston Williamson have built a reputation - for being able to deliver high quality design solutions whilst mindful of cost and programme issues. These large public projects are subject to continual financial review and audit so it is

essential to design properly from the outset.

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“Paddington station is the jewel in the crown of Crossrail”

Crossrail spokesman


In Weston Williamson’s proposals for a Transport Orientated Development in Hong Kong the High Speed Station is situated

in the basement of a series of towers. The “kissing” towers incorporate a hotel, apartments, offices and shops and meet the

ground at three points creating a large new urban public space at street level. The point where the towers meet between levels 7-10 create further public exhibitions and garden spaces and the hotel

lobby. The key to creating this new urban form is the transport.

We have been working collaboratively on this project with Thyssenkrupp to develop an elevator which is capable of traveling

horizontally as well as vertically.

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17Weston Williamson are designing both high speed stations in Manchester, one is in the city centre and the other is at Manchester Airport which will act as a catalyst for a major new business area. The station itself is simple and elegant and will attract development opportunities immediately adjacent to it.

The UK government is investing in High Speed Rail in order to boost the economy and attempt to equalise the demand for housing by making accessibility a priority.


Weston Williamson has worked on a number of important projects in India including the Delhi Metro Stations at Kashmiri Gate and

the Red Fort. The image opposite is a project for an Urban Farm in Mumbai which seeks to demonstrate how a traditional rural lifestyle can be successfully transplanted into a dense urban city. This forms

part of our thinking in a specific quarter of our visionary TOD City.

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19Qatar will host the soccer world cup in 2022. To meet the demand for transport and to create a legacy for the country a new metro system is proposed. Weston Williamson established a design vision for a number of stations which draws on cultural and local references to create a distinctive look and feel for this project.


Weston Williamson have developed our own stakeholder participation system called EOS which we have used successfully on a number of important large infrastructure projects.

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In China we have worked alongside three of the railway design institutes on designs for Beijing, Wuhan and Xiamen. Working in

China is exciting and fast paced but they seldom want involvement in the latter stages and there is little loyalty to the ownership of ideas. We enjoy working there but we work best when we feel

there will be an ongoing involvement in the projects, rather than just establishing the concepts.

Beijing South Railway Station is of monolithic proportions covering 940,000 sq m. The roof includes a 30,000 sq m skylight to

maximise natural light within the station. Weston Williamson was short-listed from a world-wide competition to produce a master

plan and concept design for this station.

The design has strong cultural origins. The concept comes from the Chinese decorative knotted cross, an important cultural object.

Its shape and colour have influenced every area of the design concept, maintaining an idea that is wholly cultural and wholly

Chinese.

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The new railway station at Wuhan is to act as a catalyst to redevelop the city. The building has been designed in harmony with the surrounding environment and knits into a proposed Masterplan for a commercial and residential district.

A major influence on our design of the materplan and the station itself is sustainability. High Speed Rail travel will contribute much to reducing carbon emissions but these large infrastructure projects can be very energy intensive if not designed efficiently. the amounts of concrete alone can be massive and there is huge scope for energy efficient design.

The landscaping on both sides will form a natural green screen to reduce and isolate the noise of trains and vehicles. The large areas of water at the front of the station will connect with the Yangchun Lake to create a cooling environment.

Together these elements form a protective ribbon around the development. The station has a colourised aluminium roof made of a light steel frame. The transparent glass curtain wall maximises on the natural climate conditions by using natural ventilation and also providing a large bright central space.

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Xiamen City is an important centre for communications with big opportunities for economic development. The station will help lead

and encourage innovation and expansion of this city. It is necessary to build a modernized, urban-comprehensive communications hub

with plans to develop the surrounding area to include the coach and bus stations and interchange facilities.

These Chinese high-speed rail stations are of an immense scale, the same size as some airports. They are ambitious schemes to further stimulate China’s growing economy. We have worked in

conjunction with a number of Railway Design Institutes on several high-speed stations.

An important influence in the request is to incorporate local and significant symbolism into the designs.

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We hope you endorse and support our Transport Oriented Development campaign.

If you have any queries we would be pleased to discuss this with you

Chris WilliamsonFounding Partner

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