Cease Speed, an architecture competition to envision a train station based on the upcoming hyperloop technology. With the transformation of train vehicles into pods and tracks as means to float using magnetic levitation, visualize a hyperloop station and its services.
Fig: 1 –Old Victoria Terminus station at Mumbai (Credits-MeMumbai)
Train stations
Humans have always attempted to find convenience, to make lives better and easier. Hence we have striven to compress time and space from city to city. With the invention of the steam engine in 1804, railway tracks formed a network that began connecting cities to regions with rich natural resources. Gradually, it became a principal mode of transport for labour and heavy goods.
As time passed networks started coming up and train stations also evolved from basic sheds to buildings of prominence. Cities thrived around these stations, main city centres were shifted near stations to function easily. Becoming important, they formed architectural expressions and created new engineering feats. Stations became city gates and social centres that represented celebrations of arriving war troops.
Over the years, this evolution of transport constantly ran parallel with the evolution of technology. Train transport has changed rapidly from electric locomotives to high-speed rails, and stations from a place to leave to a place to be.
Fig: 2 – Transport Systems in cities (Credits-Nick Fewings)
Evolving transport technologies
Cities have an impeccable ability to adapt to change. Invention and technological advancement over the years have always affected the way our cities function. The city in turn influences our ambitions and aspirations, which are a driving force for humans to live and work.
Hence, the development of transportation has, is still revolutionizing work, travel and social life. It has established connectivity and collaboration between different regions.
Transportation networks prove to be one of the fundamental tools and an efficient design of a transportation network for a country cannot be overstated. The promise of jobs, prosperity, faster travel and standard of living pulls people to cities. Though this attraction and demand for city life have created problems of overpopulation.
Transport systems all over the world are attempting to keep ahead of their masses and transient technologies are introducing faster means and innovation in travel every year.
Fig: 3 – Hyperloop concept
Hyperloop – high speed travel
The introduction of innovation that enhances life while taking responsibility for its impact, have worked wonders. In July 2012, several firms unveiled their vision of the new transport system, a ‘Hyperloop’. A system that would never crash and would be immune to weather’s vagaries.
Said to be safer than cars, faster than trains, and less damaging to the environment than aircraft, hyperloop technology is quickly gaining traction.
Noted as the 21st century’s biggest and fastest travel breakthrough, it is challenging all modes of transport in the race against time. It is considered to be the most sustainable form of transport that may reduce carbon emissions of flights by 58 per cent.
Aside from low impact and travel time reduction, the hyperloop is expected to solve the housing crisis. It can enable people to live in suburbs due to fast travel and thus reduce the pressure on cities and people. This technology is supposedly the change we need.
Fig: 4 – Proposed Hyperloop Station (Credits-UN Studio)
Brief of the competition
Hyperloop engineering promises to set up supersonic travel. Since 2014, the technology is planned to establish its roots in major cities worldwide. Since then the technology is under test and evolving with time. In 2020, it crossed its first milestone of carrying human passengers in ultra-fast pods, bringing it close to reality. However, the construction complexity of this system is still under resolution, so it may take a few more years for the system to be established.
So, with the technology on its way, how will the nearby future of train travel look like?
How will it affect its surroundings? And most importantly, what modifications will the station typology undergo?
Brief: Envision a train station based on the upcoming hyperloop technology.
With the transformation of train vehicles into pods and tracks as means to float using magnetic levitation, visualize a hyperloop station and its services.
Design objectives
- Integration and Adaptation: How will it adapt to the existing transport infrastructure and public transportation?
- Technologies: What are the possible public technologies that will evolve with the hyperloop system?
- Form and structure: Reinvent the visual form experience of a train station with the future possibilities in the construction and materials industry.
- Spaces: What new spaces can be added to the existing typology?
The station will aim and function as arriving and departure points for the hyperloop pods. The focus is not on the technicality of the hyperloop system/pods but spatial functioning and design conceptualization of the station.
Site
Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop
These cities located in the state of Maharashtra often witness a high number of commuters travelling regularly. The distance road or rail is usually 3hours 30 minutes, but it usually exceeds 4-6 hours due to frequent traffic congestion and road blockages on the Mumbai-Pune expressway.
The introduction of the Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop between two cities will be realized in just 25 minutes. Many locations are being discussed for this project, but the initial route decided was between Wakad and the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s Gahunje Stadium along the expressway.
Location: Mumbai-Pune, Gahunje Cricket Stadium
Coordinates: 18°40’10.3″N 73°42’18.8″E
Scale
The hyperloop technology is a pod-based transit system. These passenger pods are anticipated to depart from stations every 5 minutes. They are expected to accommodate up to 20 people per trip.
25,000 – 30,000 daily passengers travel between Mumbai and Pune through six intercity trains, participants are to design the station to cater for this amount of passengers on a daily basis.
Participants are free to design the station activities around these dimensions and users mentioned in the outline of the given site map.
Program Outline
Services ~ 30%
Basic arrival and departure amenities – Elevators/Escalators, Ticket counters, Staff requirements and Security.
Public ~ 30%
Spaces that engage the public while waiting and also which deems profitable for the station- Cafes/Retail Stores/Restaurants/Toilets.
Landscaping ~ 10% (min.)
Circulation ~ 30% (Public movement)
Participants are to adhere to these basic activities for their concept design, they can incorporate their own programme beyond the mentioned spaces.
Additional Resources
This competition contains additional resources that contain a set of files useful to complete the competition submission. This folder is made available on your profile dashboard automatically as soon as you register.
This additional resource folder of this competition contains:
Submission Format files in PSD | AI | InDD,
Guide to Journal Section + Questions,
Site Images,
High-Resolution Site Map, and
CAD file of the Site plan.
Submission Requirements
- Recommended number of sheets/presentation images/boards:
3 (Three) of size [2800px x 3500px] in portrait digital format (JPEG only). - Minimum 3 (Three) & No maximum sheet limit. Each image should be less than 15MB. (Do not submit PNG format)
- Minimum requisite submission are sheets/boards + Cover image containing:
- Site plan
- Key concept section x 1
- 3D views x 4
- Additional cover image of 2000px x 1000px
- Write an article/story in the Journal section# of the project (of about 700-1000 words) answering the questions given in the guide pdf you receive in the additional resources.
Submission Guidelines
- Under additional resources, which you will receive after registration, you will be provided with a submission sheets template.
- Submit JPEG images only.
- Ensure that the final sheets submitted do not include your name or any other mark of identification.
- Mention sheet number on the corner of every sheet.
- All the sheets or images will be viewed on a digital device. e.g. Laptop screen or projector. Uploaded sheets or images will not be physically printed for evaluation. The submission hence should be prepared for digital viewing only.
- Tip: Remember that your sheets will have to convey your ideas. Try using comprehensive presentation techniques; use images, illustrations, sketches, views, diagrams, text, etc. to express the design fully. For example, use exploded views to discuss multi-leveled conceptual models better.
Eligibility
- The minimum eligible age for participation is 18 years.
- The competitions are open worldwide for designers from any discipline.
- You can participate as an individual or as a team of a maximum of 4 members.
- All students and professionals can participate in the competitions.
- For Students: A student is someone who is currently enrolled in a full-time graduate/undergraduate program at a university anywhere in the world on the date of registration. We will need proof of identity upon the result declaration. The proof of identity should clearly state that you were enrolled in the institution at the time of registration. You may also produce a bonafide/authorized certificate from the institution as proof of identity. Students are allowed to involve one mentor/professor/guide in their team provided the mentor has been authorized via a bonafide certificate of the University.
- All the participants who do not belong to the student category will be considered professionals by default. Ph.D. candidates will also be considered professionals.
- Institutional access is a program for students only if they are participating in the competition as a group of 20 people and want to submit 5-20 entries together. Institutional access has to be done under the guidance of a mentor/professor.
- A team with even one professional will be considered as a professional entry.
Base Rules
- You can submit more than one project but they have to be registered separately.
- Your submission as part of any competition is linked to your UNI user account which stands as your identification. We do not have any identification codes.
- Hence, your submission sheets should not include any form of identification or personal information such as your names, organization, city, etc.
- This is a design idea challenge only. There is no built commission/realization associated with the problem.
- Each competition requires submission of original work. If referring to an existing work like text, theory, images, or ideas, giving due credit is mandatory. Otherwise, it will be counted as plagiarism.
- The official language of the competitions is English.
- The registration fee is non-refundable. Therefore, should a participant or team change their mind, refuse or fail to submit an entry after registering, the registration amount will not be refunded. Read the cancellation policy for more information.
- If there are any changes in competition brief or schedule, they shall be updated on the website.
- When you register for a competition, you are automatically agreeing to the terms and conditions of UNI.
- Anybody working with UNI or associated with us are not eligible to participate or receive awards in competitions hosted on UNI. That includes currently working employees at UNI, jury members, community moderators or contract agencies, and their direct relatives.
Judging Criteria
The entries will be judged by an international jury of the competition on the following criteria:
Presentation: The fundamental to a good entry is a visual delivery of ideas.
Concept/Idea: Quality of thought and intent in pre-design phase.
Programme/Spaces: How the spaces are conceived along with the programme.
Design Outcome: The final architectural outcome of the solution.
The judging panel can also add other criteria based on their internal discussions – which will be in line with the problem statement. Participants are advised to fulfill above given criteria first in their design. Names of the jury panel will be announced soon.
The decision of the Judges Panel is final, no appeals will be entertained and no further correspondence shall be entered into.
Please note that the jury scores are NOT affected by the number of likes on a project. Every submission is evaluated based on the judging criteria. However, ‘Likes’ play a role in determining the People’s Choice Awards.
Schedule:
Registration Deadline: 21 February 2022
Submission Deadline: 22 February 2022
Result Announcements: 21 April 2022
For more details, please visit here.
