Presentation Panels

Statement

The Train Station

The opportunity to design the new National train station beneath parliament house in Canberra is an incredibly exciting prospect. I guess the reason for it is because I have such fond memories of the grand train stations on England. The division of public and private space, along with the chance to play with scale in a much grander sense than anything I've been able to do before sends a huge variety of ideas through my mind and I literally cannot wait to get into the design phase of this semester. I think being able to work in collaboration with the other group members as well will result in a stronger project for all of us, each with designs that belong together as a set, creating a complete system for the future of Australia. Our brief has been divided into three sections, that of the National Train Station in Canberra, the Regional Centre train station, and the train itself with its inter-locking pods. Jay will design the regional centre, Cat will design the train and I will design the new station for Canberra. While different aesthetically, both the regional centre and national stations will be able to integrate the train pods seamlessly into their own architecture creating new, mobile and flexible spaces from which politicians will be able to both work and travel simultaneously.

exemplary studies

Population distribution

Australia's population is primarily distributed along the east coast, with the distances between cities close enough to one another to make HSR a viable alternative. However, outside of the proposed route between Brisbane and Melbourne, HSR loses viability as distances become too great and passenger transit is lower. Projected population group further supports the viability in eastern cities as most development will be coastal and the boost to regional centres from the support of the HSR will lessen the effects of sprawl and congestion on the major cities.

The above map shows the most effective proposed route for the HSR network as proposed by the recently released feasibility study. The dotted line represents possible future extensions of the network. For our proposal, we will adapt the primary path

The above diagram demonstrates spacial connections and hierarchy of the national HSR station in Canberra. It is proposed that the station will be constructed underneath Parliament House, playing on the metaphor that Canberra, or more specifically parliament is built on the network. Ranked in order of importance or significance, with the departure lounge being the most grand and important space. 

Campaigns for HSR

The above video is essentially an advertisement for a new High Speed Rail network in California. It gives examples of the international successes of HSR, along with the benefits of such a system in the context of California. I know it's a bit long but it gives a great insight into the benefits of HSR both now and into the future.

Mobility in parliament

High Speed Rail represents as exciting future for domestic Australian travel. The current dominance of air travel and the constant need for travel between Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane has resulted in a high competitive yet environmentally irresponsible method of transport. HSR is an alternative which is much better for the environment, with lower emissions per person for each kilometre travelled, but comparable when one considers the time air travel can take. Not only do you have to arrive at the airport much earlier than your flight, the location of airports on the fringes of cities means that travel to and from the airport itself can take up a significant portion of your total travel time. HSR solves this problem by being able to deliver passengers directly into the heart of a city, ready for whatever their day may bring.


There is also a possibility, that with a little innovation, HSR would enable parliament itself to become a more mobile entity, not only opening the doors of Canberra but drawing it out to other cities and centres along the east coast of Australia. In our project, we intend to have a modular train with pods that are able to be interchanged and moved to allow the train to have greater use for the everyday person through to Ms Gillard herself. These pods would contain either offices, private suites, passenger carriages and places for debate, among other things. When not in use in the actual train itself, it is hoped that these pods will be able to seamlessly integrate into the architecture of any of the stations along the route of the train and create temporary spaces for community engagement in politics.