Design Council and Network Rail stress importance of strong design in future railway stations

Design must be the golden thread running through the planning and development of all UK infrastructure, Design Council and Network Rail stated at a special event on 28 January 2020.

Held at the iconic Design Museum, the event marked the culmination of a series of pioneering ThinkStation workshops. These are being run by Design Council across the UK to encourage community groups, industry experts and others with an interest in rail to help shape future railway station design.

The recent ThinkStation workshops have explored in turn Network Rail’s nine recently adopted principles of good design – developed with Design Council’s support – and have encouraged participants to consider how each principle can be applied to future railway stations. This important work is a fundamental part of Network Rail’s commitment to be a more customer-focused, service-driven organisation that puts passengers first.

Design Council’s final ThinkStation event will summarise findings from recent workshops and encourage further discussion and feedback from participants. Attendees will also hear from two eminent speakers – Design Council Built Environment Expert Jim Eyre, founding director at Wilkinson Eyre; and Hilary Carty, Director of Clore Leadership – who will give their expertise and experience on how well-designed infrastructure can bring us closer together, create cohesive communities and stimulate local and regional economic growth across the UK.

Design Council will use ThinkStation feedback to inform recommendations for the brief of an international station design competition which will launch later in 2020. 

Sue Morgan, Director of Architecture and the Built Environment said: “Today marks the culmination of series of hugely successful ThinkStation workshops. I’m delighted by the wealth of ideas shared, from enabling us to connect more easily, to build stronger communities, to boosting our local economies. I want to thank everyone for participating with such energy and enthusiasm. We now look forward to summarising this rich feedback ahead of Network Rail’s station design competition later this year.”

Anthony Dewar, Professional Head of Architecture and Design at Network Rail said: “Railway stations are often a focal point of their local communities as well as important travel hubs. Network Rail is committed to designing stations that will be fit for the needs of today’s and future generations of passengers, that’s why we’ve been running this series of ThinkStation workshops alongside Design Council. We’ve spoken to some 350 people and will be using the information that they have provided us to inform our work going forward, starting with a station design competition, which we’ll be launching later in the year.”