Rail Analysis India Dec Edition 2017 Digital Magazine | Page 30

Article | 29
30 | Article
DEVELOPMENT IN AIR SPACE :
Building Stations Vertically
When sky has no limit... then why a building has?
AR. PRIYANKA KUMAR
AUTHOR
Image Credit: citymayors.com
M.PLAN ( URBAN PLANNING) (Pursuing)
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
An “Institution of National Importance”
Under an Act of Parliament (Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India)
Image Credit: Ar. Janak Panchal
BACKGROUND
In this fast moving world, Urbanization is taking place at a
faster rate. India is also transforming from a rural to an urban
country. According to Census of India 11.4 % of the total
Population used to live in urban areas. This count increased
to 31% as per 2011.It is estimated that 40.76% of country's
Population will be living in urban areas according to a survey
by UN State of the World Population report in 2007. So it is
easily expected that 60 % of Indians will live in cities by 2050.
Now the question arises are our cities prepare for the future,
prepare for 2030 or 2050? It is the need of hour to re imagine
the concepts of shelter, utilities, culture, health, public
buildings, recreation centers, road systems, transport facilities
and economy. It is important to give answers of questions
such as Where do citizens live, work, and play? How will the
city serve its citizens? Although NASA is working hard now
to discover whether there is life on Mars possible or not(as a
sarcasm) but If we do not plan today for our planet earth, we
will build our cities that codify inequity and unsustainability.
VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT:
DEVELOPMENT IN AIR SPACE
Development in air space is a new idea for future development
on Earth. As the growth in density is inevitable as the natural
resources such as land and water are limited and stretched
to cater to increasing populations resulting in horizontal
sprawl on the planet. Now most of Indian cities have started
to turn into vertical constructs with high rise buildings but for
vertically too we need a piece of horizontal land and already
we are stretched or spread out in an unnatural and ungraceful
manner. The idea will be “Icing on the cake “to evaluate the
cities under water, underground and to develop vertically or
in air space just above on an existing structure such as metro
stations, bus stations and railway stations any other transit
stations etc.
Image Credit: citymayors.com
Fig 2: View of the station building
the station. And it also attracts tourists. The station is G+9
with 9 floors in air space. The lobby of the station is framed by
two curved structures 46 feet high which tried to highlight the
scale of the place. Between two frames is the central nave
that houses the station platforms, 430 meters long, oriented
in the direction east - west, which is covered by a huge glass
dome and light that extends over 321 meters. The building
with north-south orientation of 45 meters wide and 159 long,
are situated between the two blocks of buildings and this is
covered by a barrel vault, filigree and glass. As the point of
architecture and urban planning, these types of structures,
called building bridges form a unit with the glass vessels of
the train station.
Fig 3: Bridge Building and Central Nave
Multipurpose Station :
Station has total 14 Platforms with 1,500 daily trains and
25,000 passengers. Total area of railway station is 175,000
m², out of this 15,000 m² is used for retail area such as
or shops and restaurants. Three floors of shops and
restaurants between the two levels of terraces, the station
has become the commercial and business center of the
future neighborhood around the station.
Areas of 50 000 m² offices occupy nine of the ten floors of
these buildings. The platforms are spread over an area of
32000 m². There are other facilities also such as parking
services etc.
DEVELOPMENT IN AIR SPACE: BERLIN,
GERMANY
Image Credit: citymayors.com
Berlin station
Image Credit: citymayors.com
Fig 1: Mega Berlin Train Station, Berlin Hauptbahnhof
The mega Berlin Train Station, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin,
Germany opened on 26 May 2006.It is one of largest crossing
station in Europe. The importance of the station as a crossing
point between Europe and link the east and west. It has a clear
definition from which regarded as the whole area as a Hub for
Berlin City. It serves various employment opportunities inside
Fig 4: Relation of Station with Surroundings
Source: snehalata3954/berlin-hauptbanhof-central-railway