TRAIN STOPS OF THE POMERANIAN METROPOLITAN RAILWAY

Architectural conceptual design of the idea of planned train stops of the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway

Design team:
mgr inż. Jan T. Kosiedowski,
dr inż arch. Gabriela Rembarz,
mgr inż. arch. Sławomir Bryczkowski,
mgr inż. arch. Magdalena Stefanowicz
mgr inż. arch. Magdalena Miara
stud. arch. Monika Wierzba
mgr inż. arch. Tomasz Stanisławczyk
mgr inż. Grażyna Nowińska
mgr inż. arch. Maciej Sas
mgr inż. arch. Anna Rożańska

Location and planning:
All the 8 PMR stops have been designed in similar style, creating in the spatial city – singly and as a whole set – a form of setting recognisable from afar. Such an assumption aims to help pedestrian orientation in the vast communication spaces in the area of PMR stops, introduce into it new elements of local identification;
Adopting the assumption of an architecture of PMR stops recognizable from afar caused the PMR logo to be proposed as a simple, shining sign of vertical street information,

Architecture of ENTRANCE ZONE
- The main assumption was to architecturally stress the entrance zone into PMR stop platforms. It integrates in one point all routes of pedestrian circulation connected with the functioning of the PMR route. These are entrances into platforms and passages through the core of the railway route (footbridges/tunnels) together with accesses, directly connected with them, from car parks and planned bus and tram stops. The platforms, stairs and passages are fully available for the disabled and wheelchairs (lifts/slipways), whose location is visible well from afar; avoiding unlit and functionless corners,

- The entrance zone, in which the dominant elements are very high staircases and lift risers, has been formed by a system of simple roofing, inspired by the idea “wrapping in a red ribbon” the core of the railway route. It is a distant reference to the two arches from PMR logo. The original cube encasing the staircase risers has been transformed. Cutting it and putting the parts aside followed from the main directions of pedestrian accesses and the dynamic conditions of the area. The form of the entrance zone remains geometrically coherent, reflecting simultaneously the functional and topographic dynamics of the area;

- The architecture of the face curtain wall of the entrance zone has been planned as a perforated transparent screen, casting a shade or a special illumination on the flooring of the platforms and entrance squares. The form shown on the display-boards is only symbolic, since the final drawing of that perforation, as well as the manner of illuminating it should be individualised and be put to a separate competition. It is proposed to make curtain walls from stretched sheet metal, individually perforated. The roof is of complete steel plates with a slight slip and drainage to outlet pipes concealed in the thickness of the construction of the curtain walls. This can be implemented in high staircases (Niedźwiednik, Rakoczego) additional, side coverage screens out of hardened glass protecting against strong wind, snow and rain;

- In order to reinforce visibility of the PMR stop and ensure integration of the spatial form in selected stops (Wróbla Staw, Budowlanych) it has been proposed to increase roofing height of “the entrance zone”. In the space thus obtained additional premises have been proposed (area of about 300m2) capable of making room for worker facilities for the bus terminal, tourist information, a kiosk with newspapers or a bar;

- It has been assumed to strive to completely separate the flyover structure of PMR line from the structure of staircase risers (reinforced concrete monolith, cover panels of railings – hardened glass) and roofing structures of “the entrance zone” (steel) and the footbridges connected with it (steel and reinforced concrete). A form was proposed for poles and supports of flyovers of PMR route integrally connected with the pedestrian circulation zone in the area of PMR stops,

- An integral element of the architecture of “the entrance zone” is the composition of the public space surrounding the stop. Special stress was given to its fragments forming the main directions of pedestrian accesses to the stops. They constitute a supplementing element of “the ribbon” emphasizing the stop’s compositional integration with the surroundings. To lay the sidewalks it is proposed to use concrete plates and details (posts, curbs etc.) specially made for PMR.

- The architecture of roofing and equipment of the platforms (benches, garbage cans etc.) is modern and symbolically simple, it is the background supplement of the distinctive architecture of the “entrance zone”.

- All the stops have roofed bicycle parks, while the Abrahama stop even has enough room for a city bicycle rental.

Setting relations:
The extraordinary nature of the topography and immediate vicinity of nature have caused the Niedźwiednik and Rakoczego stops elevated high above the area level to be perceived naturally as exceptional view points on the surroundings. These qualities were used in the design, proposing a special view platform for the Rakoczego stop, and planning for the Niedźwiednik stop special “view windows” in the curtain wall. The surroundings can be viewed from these locations as well as from the whole length of the platforms.

Art in PMR public space
When designing PRM stops, the following assumptions were adopted regarding their strategic exposure in their public space of art:
A. art exposure – different art forms: literature, virtual art, sculpture, land art,
B. art exposure – fixed and variable elements
C. art exposure – three perception scales: from the distance, from the access, from the platform

Each of the 8 designed PRM stops has other predispositions to play the role of art space. Thus:

1. Abrahama (university) is a space of literary setting. It is proposed to use the space below the PMR flyover and the planned route of Nowa Abrahama as a theatrical and catering zone, a somewhat “artistic Depot”. It is planned to decorate the walls and floorings with famous citations– passages of poems and novels, chosen in a public contest. The premises below the flyover can make room for a bookshop, stands of local “bookinists” or an art gallery referring to the famous example of Savigny Platz in Berlin.
2-3. Niedźwiednik and Rakoczego are stops located very high above the surroundings. The area between them is presumed in city plans as an area of open-air events. It seems interesting to use PMR stops as view points for observing artistic designs in the nature of vast conceptual designs in the spirit of land art. Niedźwiednik stop has been fitted with service-providing space (in the light of the flyover above Słowackiego street), which has been provisionally called “Art-bar” securing a large-scale wall painting.
4. Wróbla Staw is a stop in the mid of nature – on the edge of TPK [landscape park] and the developing residential district in the area of the former military training ground. It is proposed to install water fountains here forming a gate to the water park on the edge of the Pond.
5. Kiełpinek – stop on the edge of a large residential district Wiszące Ogrody neighbouring with the facilities of the old Kokoszkoweska Railway – it is proposed to use the retaining wall limiting the car park zone at the stop as a gallery of the history of the old railway in Gdańsk or a kind of variable art exposure zone
6. Budowlanych – will be created on cut-down part of forest, hence it is proposed to form the public zone with artistic use of biological material – gardening art, promotion of ecology, the car park zone may serve to create here a kind of sculpturing car parking-park,
7. Airport – it is proposed to use the zone below the PMR flyover (between the entrances to the platforms and travolator) as galleries suspended below the ceiling of variable artistic spatial installations,
8. Barniewicka – it is proposed here to use the space of the car park as a zone of a lighting installation, a kind of car park of light. Only this location can be really seen from an airborne airplane.

Considerable thought was given to considering their design in the form of a kind of spatial frame, whose selected elements may be formed in collaboration with artists:
1. individualization of the form of architecture of particular stops by an individual drawing-perforation of the face curtain wall of “the entrance zone” and its illumination – design selected in an artistic competition – both at day and night-time passenger will observe lighting effects changing in time.
2. the ceiling below the roof of “the entrance zone” is proposed to be treated as a screen on which artistic video projections can be displayed.
 
Figure. The ribbon principle in forming the architecture of the entrance zone of PM R stops.