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Train Station Translation: A Lesson in Design Vocabularies

By Ted Haug // 09/19/2017
Thought Leadership, Transportation

A train station’s style has a lot to say.

Literally and figuratively, train stations connect municipalities. The station is the gateway to the tracks that lead people to other places. It is the face that a city or village shows to commuters, and, in many cases, an embodiment of a community’s values.

Midwestern stations adopt a variety of styles, ranging from the democratic idealism of Thomas Jefferson’s American Colonialism to the simple geometries (and sometimes even starkness) of the Contemporary Style. Every style has a unique “vocabulary” consisting of form (i.e., wall surfaces and roof), materials (e.g., brick, stone, precast concrete, metal), and spatial relationships. Each vocabulary marks a time in history. Some municipalities elect to pay tribute to the past, while others choose to invent a new vocabulary that captures their own moment in time.

During a 30-year relationship with Metra (Chicago’s commuter railroad), I’ve had the opportunity to learn and “speak” many vocabularies via design. In this series, I will share “translations” of several train station vocabularies and draw from case studies from throughout the region. Examples include American Colonialism, Richardsonian Romanesque, American Arts & Crafts, Prairie, and Contemporary.

So whether you prefer the brick and stone masterpieces of yesterday, or the glass and steel wonders that point to tomorrow, get on board. It’s going to be a fun ride.

Contact us to learn more about train station design, see Ted’s series on train station design fundamentals, or comment below to share your thoughts on this post.

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Ted Haug
Ted Haug

Ted Haug, AIA, LEED AP BD+C finds joy in architecture’s ability to combine function and aesthetics. He analyzes problems, creates answers, and then combines them into a built whole. Ted believes that every project, no matter how humble its scale or modest its budget, deserves a well-conceived solution and a beautiful design.

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Comments (1)

09/25/2017 Singapore Interior Design

Thanks for the useful information!

Reply to Singapore Interior Design

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