Great Western Coffee Shop

LFA and Network Rail have announced the design teams shortlisted to develop a new take on station seating, to brighten the experience of Londoners, commuters and visitors in some of London’s largest train stations, in time for the Festival’s return to the capital in June 2020.

Architecture and design students, recent graduates and emerging practitioners were invited to consider engaging and imaginative seating solutions that can add value to and maximise the possibilities of the under-used public space within stations. With the opportunity to completely transform how passengers sit and wait for their trains, the competition seeks to inform a prototype for how a future of station seating might look, with the potential for winning ideas to be replicated across stations by Network Rail in the future.

LFA runs a lot of these competitions, several of which recently have been around stations if not in them. There was one about wayfinding around London Bridge station, and last year Wandworth Borough supported one to brighten up the space under a railway bridge (Thessaly Road), won by Yinka Ilori. Pretty, huh?

The bridge has undergone an impressive facelift, including an extensive clean of its concrete pillars and facades and the installation of an specially-designed timeline mural that tells the history of the area from the years 929 to 2019. It has also been given new LED lighting.

The mural captures interesting and unique points of interest in West Drayton and Yiewsley, reminding local people of its agricultural and industrial heritage. 

(https://www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Arch-42-Site-%C2%A9-Luke-ODonovan-web-2-of-5-1024x683.jpg)
Arch 42 is one of a series of arches forming a section of the Victorian railway viaduct carrying the South Western main line into Waterloo station. Currently presenting a significant barrier to movement in the local area, it will be opened up to create a vital new route between Nine Elms station, Nine Elms Lane and the River Thames, and linking up with pedestrian and cycle routes running through Nine Elms. The new gateways to Arch 42 will form part of significant public realm improvements around the new Northern Line stations including new pavements, tree planting, increased cycle parking, new seating and wayfinding.

The shortlisted teams will be awarded a ?500 honorarium to develop their proposals, which will feature in an online public exhibition, opening in early December. The overall budget for the winning design is expected to be in the region of ?165,000 to develop and deliver the project that will be installed ahead of the scheduled opening of the Northern Line Extension in Autumn 2021.

In my view, the exact design of station seating is being over considered.
Most stations IMHO need MORE seating, of a cheap, simple, robust and vandal resistant design. The existing perforated bent steel benches are acceptable, but would be improved by adding arm rests at each end.

Quantity is more important than quality in my view.

Competition winner revealed: Arch 42 Gateways

Emerging architecture practice Projects Office are revealed as the winners of the Arch 42 Gateways competition, organised by the London Festival of Architecture and Wandsworth Council. Their winning co-design project, ‘Tunnel Visions’ aims to bring the diverse and growing local community together through a new connection for Nine Elms, turning Arch 42 into a bold local landmark.
...
Founded by Megan Charnley, James Christian and Bethan Kay in 2015, Projects Office delight in projects which involve and celebrate communities, at work, at play or in the city. Building on this, their joyful proposal seeks to empower residents with a sense of ownership and forge connections between people and local places to eliminate loneliness.

Curating Concourses: Winners revealed             NEWS | 25 / 05 / 21

Muslim Women in Architecture announced as winners of Curating Concourses competition

LFA and Network Rail have announced Muslim Women in Architecture (MWA) as the winners of the Curating Concourses competition. Their winning concept, “As you’re passing by”, looks to transform people’s experience of Euston Station’s concourse with a bold, and engaging installation that brings different communities together, using interactive design to communicate content in a way that is accessible to all.
...
As part of the LFA in June, MWA’s modular installation will display Network Rail’s Design Guidance Series, reimagining how these 29 printed documents can be exhibited in a more approachable and interactive way. The exhibition concept is split across a number of separate mobile ‘suitcase’ modules – with each featuring two double-sided hinged display panels.

As stations are among the most diverse ‘meeting points’ in our cities, “As you’re passing by” considers how stations can offer a more inclusive and accessible environment, informed by MWA’s experience of exclusion and empathy that shapes the collective’s approach to design as a result.

“As you’re passing by” makes use of simple, eye-catching elements to break down the key information, making this easy to see and understand even when passing-by from a distance. Using tactile surfaces, as well as contrasting tones and materiality, these panels illustrate the images and graphics from these documents, while also bringing attention to Network Rail’s subtle design intent that is often forgotten during the bustle of travel.