THE

STATIONSOFVALUE

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“GOOD TRANSPORT HELPS PEOPLE GET AROUND AND GET ON AND IS CRUCIAL TO DRIVING ECONOMIC GROWTH. THAT IS WHY THE GOVERNMENT IS HEAVILY INVESTING IN TRANSPORT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SPREADING OPPORTUNITY AND GROWTH AND BRINGING OUR COUNTRY CLOSER TOGETHER.” UK TRANSPORT MINISTER

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DALMARNOCK FIRST STOP – REGENERATION

BOND STREETAN UPGRADE TO COLLABORATION

CONCLUSION

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

GLASGOWA TIMELESS STATION

BIRMINGHAM A COLLABORATIVE JOURNEY TO THE FUTURE

25 CUSTOM HOUSETHINK MODULAR

30CAMBRIDGE DESIGNED FOR CAMBRIDGE37

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0503Stations are no longer places that

people just pass through, they are places where people live, work and shop and can form the very heart of our communities. Stations can be transformative – the catalyst for growth, regeneration or reinvention. The foundation for a new city, region or economic hub.

Increasingly, transportation infrastructure is a key driver to the development of our cities, and the development of our cities is, undoubtedly, essential to the growth of our economy. Whichever way you look at it, transportation is a key enabler to our continued economic prosperity.

So, amidst all this, we need to ask: What is the true value of a station?

At Atkins we believe good station design is crucial to maximising the station’s value, not only to its owners and operators but to the community it sits in. Designing a station isn’t simply about designing a building that helps people get from X to Y – it’s about designers understanding the role a station can play in bringing value to a city and its inhabitants, and actively designing the station so that it maximises that value.

So how can a station design add real value? Our experience points to the following:

The six examples of station designs that follow demonstrate how stations can add value. They also show how throughout our work we have adhered to the basic principles of a truly collaborative delivery team, minimising waste, debris and road traffic, technology to enable efficiency and collaboration, and health and safety above all.

LIAM HARRISONMARKET DIRECTOR, TRANSPORT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT OF THE VALUE PROPOSITIONFor a new station to be transformative, the station must deliver both function and experience. Function means the station will deliver the capacity and throughput to avoid congestion and delay. Experience means that the design will promote other attributes that will drive value for users of the station by providing other opportunities (typically in retail, leisure, commercial or residential) depending on the specific location, form and density of the surrounding area.

TAKE STAKEHOLDERS ON THE DESIGN JOURNEYThe design must involve everyone with a stake in its success: the asset owner, tenants, local authorities, local land owners and developers, and the community that will use it. Working with these stakeholders is critical to unlocking the potential of a station and capturing its true value as a growth enabler and successfully navigating the planning stages of scheme development.

DESIGNING FOR RESILIENCE

Stations tend to be there for longer than the surrounding built environment, so they need to be able to accommodate impacts of economic, social and technological changes that will happen over time. It’s important to build resilience into our designs, and ensure they respond to the city and its inhabitants well into the future. When designing a station we can’t just think about the building in isolation. We need to think of every possible way end users will use the space – both now and in 20 or 50 years’ time – and look out towards its local environment and how it fits in this context.

PLACEMAKING

The successful design of a station depends on how it integrates and works with the surrounding area – whether it’s in a high density urban area, a growth node outside a city or a local interchange in a small town. Placemaking requires planners to meet the needs of the local area, in particular the community’s economy, culture, history and way of life.

MAXIMISING VALUE CAPTURE

Successful placemaking and the development of a new or enhanced value proposition will promote increased economic activity and both land value and rental potential will increase. Mechanisms for capturing that value must be in place otherwise schemes will be delayed or even fail.

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INTRO

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FIRST STOP –

BY SCOTT DICKSON, ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT

REGENERATION

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The reinvention of Dalmarnock Station started as a way to better serve the needs of the Commonwealth Games District in 2014, but now forms a crucial part of the ongoing, long term regeneration of Glasgow’s East End.

Working in partnership with multiple stakeholders – Transport Scotland, Network Rail, Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Passenger Transport and Clyde Gateway – we produced a striking design for the station that has become a dramatic backdrop to rail travel to and from Dalmarnock.

Up close, the station is designed as a tranquil background to the kinetic activity of travel, but seen from a wider perspective it is much more than this. Dalmarnock Station represents vital investment in public transport and urban infrastructure in a setting designed to make the most of the rail lines relationship to its context and community. Designed to take full cognisance of the future Clyde Gateway masterplan, the new station design interfaces seamlessly with existing public routes and future public spaces to create a rail hub embedded in its context.

Ultimately, the design of Dalmarnock Station has delivered value by constructing a relationship with the past, present and future of Dalmarnock and its wider districts.

“THE WORK AND INVESTMENT FROM OUR VARIOUS PARTNERS TO TRANSFORM DALMARNOCK STATION AND PROVIDE THIS FANTASTIC FACILITY RECOGNISES THE VITAL ROLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT PLAYS IN ENSURING DELIVERY OF A SUCCESSFUL GAMES”DAVID GREVEMBERG GLASGOW 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES CHIEF EXECUTIVE

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Best Future Building Award 2012

(Scottish Design Awards)

Rail Station of the Year Shortlist 2014

(National Transport Awards)

Best Public Building Commendation 2014

(Scottish Design Awards)

Best Public Building Commendation 2014

(Glasgow Institute of Architects)

Infrastructure Architect of the Year Shortlisted project 2016

(Building Design: Architect of the Year Awards)

The design of the new station allows the surviving, original aspects of the monolithic stone masonry station to be retained and contrasted against a new skin of glass and light. This allows critical aspects of Dalmarnock’s proud manufacturing heritage to form part of the station’s daily life again. We have also used the new works to transform an existing heavy goods bridge into a public entrance which will lead to a future public event space.

At its start, Dalmarnock Station was all about the Commonwealth Games. Acting as the main transport hub for the athletics, velodrome and opening ceremony venues, the station was designed to cope with the Games’ major events and record ticket sales.

However the future for Dalmarnock Station is two-fold. Firstly to provide modern, sustainable rail travel, connecting the increasing number of residents of Dalmarnock to Central Glasgow and beyond. Secondly to continue to assist with the regeneration of Dalmarnock as a place of work and business, encouraging people to see the new East End of Glasgow as a viable commercial district.

“DALMARNOCK STATION WAS A TRANSFORMATIVE PROJECT UNDERTAKEN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ATKINS WHO RESPONDED TO THE BRIEF BY DELIVERING A SOLUTION WHICH SIMPLIFIED A HIGHLY COMPLEX SITE”MARTIN MCKAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF REGENERATION AT CLYDE GATEWAY

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BY HALA LLOYD, ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT

A COLLABORATIVE

TO THE FUTUREJOURNEY

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On approaching Birmingham New Street Station today you are instantly struck by the sight of its massive LED media ‘eyes’ and the undulating ribbon of polished stainless steel that wraps itself around the whole station. What was a monolith of 1960s brutalist architecture has been transformed into a futuristic testimony to digital technology and 21st century design.

There is no mistaking the central purpose of this city centre landmark. Its very design reflects the dynamic movement of trains arriving and departing at this major interchange, all set against the backdrop of commercial and retail neighbours within the heart of the UK’s second biggest city.

Considered to be the ‘largest refurbishment project in Europe’ at the height of its construction, its key features exemplify the many challenges and opportunities that present themselves to all those who are involved with the redevelopment and expansion of major transport interchange hubs fit for the future. Namely, how to expand and develop facilities on congested brownfield sites within large urban metropolitan areas such that visionary design and much needed growth can be achieved whilst limiting unwelcome disruption to people and their daily lives.

This delicate balancing act requires input from all stakeholders. It needs people with the right skills and expertise engaging at the right time and with the right remit in order to address the many complex issues that are ultimately encountered on such projects.

The renewal of Birmingham New Street Station, based on the award winning and visionary 2007 competition entry from Foreign Office Architects (now AZPML), was only made possible by way of a joint design and delivery team approach led and championed by Network Rail and its partner Mace with Atkins as lead consultant throughout the key design and construction stages. This brought together team members with the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise to develop and implement complex and, on occasion, ground breaking solutions whilst ensuring the safety of all involved remained at the forefront of our endeavours.

“WHAT I’M MOST PROUD OF IS HOW SEAMLESSLY THE DESIGN BRINGS TOGETHER ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TRANSPORT MODES, RETAIL OUTLETS AND OUTDOOR SPACES”

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It’s a vital approach to current and future major interchange station design which recognises the growing need for providing mixed-use and flexible public spaces that fulfil both current operational criteria and future demands.

The invaluable experiences gained from the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street Station need to be shared and disseminated for future major infrastructure projects to help inform and define the design and implementation methodologies that can help us achieve overall project success, and most importantly, create maximum value for everyone.

Looking at the station today, it is most impressive how seamlessly the design brings together all of the different transport modes, retail outlets and outdoor spaces. We really have achieved a station that reads as one with its external environment and that has become part of the urban realm. It’s not just somewhere you go to catch a train anymore – it’s part of a normal walking route in the city, and a place where people want to be.

As an integrated major interchange, transport hub and retail centre, New Street station has become a ‘destination’ for social, retail, commerce and leisure activities. It is now established as a major arterial link within the heart of the city centre, transforming the way people move across the city and acting as a significant catalyst for further regeneration of the neighbouring areas.

Successful integration of the station has been a direct result of the positive input and interface achieved with key stakeholders and designers from a variety of disciplines and organisations including specialists in areas such as fire safety, anti-terrorism security, way-finding , communications, highways and civic design.

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A TIMELESS STATION

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BY LOGAN DOAK, SENIOR ARCHITECT

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Opened by the Caledonian Railway in 1879, Glasgow Central Station is one of those timeless stations that is recognised both nationally and internationally. Both its external and internal built fabric are protected by statute, with features like its highly decorated ashlar sandstone and granite facades, porte-chochere and arcading and delicate filigrees of glass and cast-iron all contributing to its A category listing.

In November 2013, Network Rail invited us to put together proposals for a series of interventions within the station that would elevate the quality of passenger experience via improved way-finding, lighting, signage, materials and overall levels of design.

Recent refurbishment works undertaken on the station had been of poor quality, both in terms of materials and design. This work has unsurprisingly dated badly and appears inconsistent with the Victorian architecture of the original station.

Our refurbishment aimed to provide a high impact modern design that respected the original station but that did not resort to pastiche – all within achievable cost and time limits prior to the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Our solution? To reconnect routes through the station by enhancing the visibility of critical paths and gateways. This reduces the reliance on complex signage by allowing the material and form of these new spaces to inform passengers of their function.

In practice this meant heightening the presence of the low level station within the upper concourse through the introduction of a tall, delicate archway structure which recalls the station’s original decorative gateways and barriers.

“OUR REFURBISHMENT AIMED TO PROVIDE A HIGH IMPACT MODERN DESIGN THAT RESPECTED THE ORIGINAL STATION BUT THAT DID NOT RESORT TO PASTICHE – ALL WITHIN ACHIEVABLE COST AND TIME LIMITS PRIOR TO THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN 2014”

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It also meant intensifying the significance of secondary access to Union Street through the introduction of large format porcelain tiles which create a dialogue with the ashlar sandstone and granite of the original building. The large format gates, like the archway, feature ornate metalwork based on the motifs and symbols found in the original station environment.

Although significant in scale, the new arch and gateways are elegantly proportioned and delicately perforated, and laser cut steel plates help belie their structural weight.

With these, we see a more timeless, elemental series of natural materials that respond to the original station environment, and that set the benchmark for any future development at Glasgow Central Station. Our designs have brought the station’s historical value to the forefront, while being mindful of Glasgow’s bright future.

Our work at Glasgow Central Station received a Scottish Design Award in 2015 for ‘Reuse of a Listed Building’ and a commendation in arts and leisure from the Glasgow Institute of Architects in the same year. It also played a part in the station’s recognition as National Transport Award’s and Europe’s 2014 “Station of the Year”.

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THINK

BY ED NEWMAN-SANDERS, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

MODULAR

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Looking at images of Custom House Station in London, most people would never guess the majority of it was created in a factory and assembled on site by a gantry crane. This is a station that can change all of our assumptions about prefabricated, modular design. It is not only an exemplar ‘kit of parts’ structure, but an aesthetically beautiful building.

Custom House was a unique opportunity for design and construction. Each of the 10 new stations being delivered by Crossrail has a unique character, designed to reflect its surroundings and best serve its local community. Custom House presented a number of constraints – a very narrow site working near busy railway lines and roads, existing utilities and overhead power lines and a public right of way that had to be maintained at all times – that meant traditional build options were not viable.

With Laing O’Rourke, Arup, Crossrail, and Allies and Morrison, we formed a strategy for the construction of Custom House that included pre-fabricated and standardised architectural structural components, with a ‘kit of parts’ forming the platform, columns, coffered concourse slab and roof.

With this approach we could minimise time on site, drive down programme time and preliminary costs, reduce vehicle movements and deliveries to the site and ensure a more consistent, higher quality build. Repetitious units, manufactured in factory conditions to a high standard and consistent finishes, were delivered to site in batches to coincide with the construction programme. It is efficient design and construction at its best.

“WITH THIS APPROACH WE COULD MINIMISE TIME ON SITE, DRIVE DOWN PROGRAMME TIME AND PRELIMINARY COSTS, REDUCE VEHICLE MOVEMENTS AND DELIVERIES TO THE SITE AND ENSURE A MORE CONSISTENT, HIGHER QUALITY BUILD”

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What’s more, we modelled all of the components at Custom House in 3D, providing an invaluable communication tool to aid conversations between teams around buildability, site inductions, logistics, sequencing and health and safety. The 3D model was also linked to the project programme in Synchro to visualise and plan the complex sequence of installation. This was in turn linked to Laing O’Rourke’s factory database. By using unique QR codes – or quick response barcodes – on each component, we were able to track, plan and record the status of each of the 887 precast components from the design stage through to casting, delivery and installation on site. Once on site, mobile devices scanned the QR code and brought up the necessary quality form to complete. This provided an efficient way to carry out all quality and health and safety checks, maximising traceability and simplifying the handover process.

Years from now the station will welcome regional and international visitors to London’s largest conference centre, ExCeL London, and create an important transport interchange between the Elizabeth line, the DLR and local buses. It will also provide a focus for the regeneration of the local area, the London Borough of Newham. While no one may remember its modular, ‘kit of parts’ history, the community will be left with an enduring elegant station for years to come.

“BY USING UNIQUE QR CODES ON EACH COMPONENT, WE WERE ABLE TO TRACK, PLAN AND RECORD THE STATUS OF EACH OF THE 880 PRECAST COMPONENTS FROM THE DESIGN STAGE”

All Custom House images © Crossrail

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DESIGNED FORCAMBRIDGE

BY QUINTIN DOYLE, SENIOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

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32 33When we started preparing concept designs for Cambridgeshire County Council in 2011, we were keen to understand exactly what this station needed to be, both now and in the future. You could say there’s already plenty of answers to the question – what does a new station need to be? – but the more questions we asked of our client, about their aspirations and the site itself, the more we found there was no stock answer which would meet all of their criteria.

What this process of consultation and collaboration led to was a piece of functional rail infrastructure, benchmarked for cost against other similar developments, which was also a piece of architecture specific to Cambridge and the high-tech industries it would be helping to serve. The new building had to have considerable presence as it was the first piece of redevelopment on the Chesterton Siding site, earmarked for the emerging masterplan, which was achieved by integrating the footbridge and lifts into one building. This also helps to protect revenue for the incumbent operator.

Cambridge North Station creates a new gateway to Cambridge and its northern fringes. The development is expected to serve over 3,000 passengers per day, and is seen as a key piece of Cambridgeshire’s transport infrastructure. It will alleviate congestion in the city centre and open up access to Cambridge Science Park and several major new developments to the north of Cambridge.

“BY BRINGING OUT ELEMENTS OF ITS LOCAL HISTORY AND SURROUNDING BUSINESSES, WE’VE CREATED A STATION UNIQUE TO CAMBRIDGE – A TRULY BESPOKE, TAILORED DESIGN FOR BOTH CLIENT AND COMMUNITY”

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The key to a successful station building is often said to be its usability. We’ve ensured that the passenger route through Cambridge North is clear and direct with constant views of the passenger destination. This allows the building to declutter itself of signage. Natural light is also used as part of the wayfinding strategy, with both top light and large format windows lighting key areas of the station and providing visual reminders to passengers of their route.

The building form was distilled from Cambridge station. We retained the concept of the porte cochere but stripped the building of the classical arcade to the main facade. This provides a very powerful form which addresses a new pedestrianised square. Wrapped around the square are the other transport modes. To the south of the station is a 1,000 space covered cycle shelter with a saw tooth glazed roof with integrated photovoltaic arrays which produce over 10 percent of the development’s electricity. To the north there’s the taxi rank, pick-up and drop-off points, and a 450 space car park, and directly opposite the main facade of the station is the bus interchange.

“WE’VE ENSURED THAT THE PASSENGER ROUTE THROUGH CAMBRIDGE NORTH IS CLEAR AND DIRECT WITH CONSTANT VIEWS OF THE PASSENGER DESTINATION”

The station is wrapped in three equal bands of aluminium panels which have been perforated with a design derived from John Horton Conway’s ‘Game of Life’ theories which he established while at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 1970. These beautiful, delicate panels ensure passive security to the ground floor glazed areas, assist with wayfinding while crossing the footbridge, and allow the building to transform its appearance between day and night through sensitive backlighting.

By bringing out elements of its local history and surrounding businesses, we’ve created a station unique to Cambridge – a truly bespoke, tailored design for both client and community.

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AN UPGRADE TO COLLABORATION BY STAN DOYLE,

PROJECT DIRECTOR

37TfL station upgrade

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Bond Street Station is one of the busiest stations on the London Underground network. Coupled with the fact that it is also located on the busiest retail street in Europe, it is a station that sees an incredible amount of traffic, from both Londoners and tourists, every day.

The upgrade of Bond Street Station is a key enabling project for expanding capacity on London’s underground network. To make this station work for now and the future, we needed to achieve a 40 percent increase in capacity, step free access to both the Jubilee and Central Lines, and an underground link to the adjacent Elizabeth line station being built by Crossrail.

It was of critical importance to our client and their stakeholders that early cost and programme certainty were achieved, and that the station remained in operation during construction, particularly during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

That we have been successfully engaged in the development and delivery of the upgrade for 10 years – from concept to construction and commissioning – is a testament to the collaborative and innovative nature of our engagement with our client, London Underground, their stakeholders and suppliers and contractors to ensure everyone’s requirements were met. To meet all of these stakeholders’ needs, we provided a full multidisciplinary design team comprising over 20 disciplines, predominantly from within Atkins, but critically supported by key specialists selected to enhance our ability to provide the early certainty and confidence in the approach required by TfL. These specialists included constructability advice from Balfour Beatty Management and specialist SCL (Sprayed Concrete Lining) tunnelling input from Dr Sauer and Partners.

From our initial appointment at RIBA Stage C, our team worked closely and collaboratively with the London Underground team and a wide range of stakeholders to understand and develop innovative solutions that mitigated risks. These included both temporary and permanent works design and construction, including detailed early assessment of how we would serve the constrained site on Oxford Street in Central London where most of the work would take place.

“TO MEET ALL OF THESE STAKEHOLDERS’ NEEDS, WE PROVIDED A FULL MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN TEAM COMPRISING OVER 20 DISCIPLINES”

TfL station upgrade

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To achieve this we had to develop a number of innovative solutions, but two in particular stick in the mind. First, we reviewed the proposed Spheroidal Graphite Iron (SGI) tunnelling solution in the Hybrid Bill design and developed an alternative Sprayed Concrete Lining solution for the passenger tunnels, escalator decline and lift shafts. We developed outline construction methodologies and a programme to demonstrate that this could generate a reduction in the overall construction programme together with cost benefit analysis to demonstrate and quantify the method and time related cost savings. At the time, the use of SCL for tunnels in London was a relatively new technology and we worked closely with London Underground’s head of tunnelling to gain support for this approach.

Second, due to the highly constrained central London site, the original construction strategy included a temporary steel framed building on the site of the new ticket hall and oversight development (OSD) to house gantry cranes and storage bins for the removal of tunnelling arisings and the delivery of construction materials. We developed an alternative design and construction sequence that allowed for the erection of the basement level of the new ticket hall together with the OSD building frame prior to the construction of the two vertical circulation shafts. This approach allowed the permanent OSD concrete frame to be used in place of the temporary structure resulting in a significant reduction in the station construction costs and allowing the OSD to be completed 18 months earlier than planned.

To achieve this level of joint working and collaboration, we fully supported the initiative to create the first fully co-located project team for a major London Underground station project. An approach which has been promoted as an exemplar for project collaboration.

“OUR TEAM WORKED CLOSELY AND COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE LONDON UNDERGROUND TEAM AND A WIDE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS TO UNDERSTAND AND DEVELOP INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT MITIGATED RISKS”

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03At Atkins we never stop learning. We are currently posing the following questions to our design teams and planning consultants around the future of stations.

Keeping these kinds of questions at the forefront of our approach means we are constantly challenging ourselves to ensure our station designs are fit for the future.

To find out more please contact:

LIAM HARRISONLiam.Harrison@atkinsglobal.com

+44 1865 73 4223

HOW WILL THE RISE OF NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS CHANGE HOW WE USE STATIONS?

HOW FAR AROUND A STATION CAN WE EXPECT TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT? HOW CAN WE EXTEND THIS RADIUS?

WHO SHOULD LEAD? WHICH DELIVERY MODELS BEST DELIVER THE REQUIRED OUTCOMES?

WHERE CAN WE INTRODUCE INNOVATION TO IMPROVE DELIVERABILITY AND DRIVE OUT COST AND RISK?

HOW CAN THE DESIGN OF A STATION PROMOTE WELLBEING?01

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CONCLUSION

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