China's sunken rail network
MAD Architects, along with Z’Scape Landscape Planning and Design, have designed a sunken railway network under a redeveloped park for the southeastern Chinese city of Jiaxing.
The project will, it’s claimed, “rejuvenate an old city centre with new vitality.”
Ma Yansong, MAD principal partner, asked, “is it possible for train stations to be more than a stopover for travellers, but an urban public space that people can enjoy?”
The sunken railway network under a redeveloped park in the southeastern Chinese city of Jiaxing.
The resulting new green urban centre, Train Station in the Forest, takes inspiration from Jiaxing’s history and culture. MAD’s proposal is a 1:1 rebuild of the original Jiaxing Train Station building, with a new station created underground. The station concourse, platforms and waiting hall will all be hidden in this way, and the historic building will form the entrance to the new station.
The original station opened in 1909, and MAD worked with scholars, consultants, and heritage architecture experts to inform its reconstruction. The old building will become the Jiaxing Railway History Museum upon the project’s completion.
The project is due for completion later this year.
MAD’s scheme accommodates exisiting demand while also allowing for future development and expansion. Covering 35.4 hectares, the development includes Jiaxing Train Station, the plazas to the north and south, and the renovation of the adjacent People’s Park.
Prior to MAD’s renovation, the station had reached maximum capacity, and the surrounding area was in decline. Capacity has been upgraded to three platforms serving six tracks, and overall passenger numbers are expected to reach 5.28 million people per year, with peak time capacity reaching 2,300 people per hour.
The commercial and transport functions will all be underground, with sunken courtyards connecting the space to the park above. Skylights and glass curtain walls on the ground floor will flood the underground waiting hall with light, making the subterranean space open and bright.
The project aims to “rejuvenate an old city centre with new vitality.”
To the south of the station, a business area above ground will be enclosed by landscaped public lawns which can host a variety of events. A large number of canopy-shaped trees in front of the station will provide shade for the plaza, and the scheme will become a ‘borderless park’ for citizens and travellers to enjoy.
With the ground floor given back to nature and now free of obtrusive infrastructure, the People’s Park can radiate through the development into the city and form an urban oasis. According to MAD, “the park will be a place of comfort and quiet, bringing the city centre back to the people.”
The original station opened in 1909.
Looking south along the central axis of the building, the rebuilt station and floating metal roof of the new station will blend with the forest trees, and sunken municipal roads will link the underground areas to bus terminals, tramways, metros, car parking and taxi stands.
“MAD believes that a city’s best urban spaces should belong to everybody. Architecture, sunlight, nature, and fresh air should work in harmony to be shared by all; creating an environment where people can both live and travel with convenience, dignity, and comfort.”
Construction began at the end of 2019, and completion is expected in July this year.