Large building projects are unavoidable in China, which has a population of over 1.5 billion people. Beijing has a current population of 20 million people with five main train stations located in the city's south, east, north, west, and center. Beijing required a new railway station to serve as a high-speed intercity train link between the cities of Tianjin and Shanghai. Beijing South Railway Station is a cutting-edge transportation hub that serves as one of four critical railway connections for China's rapidly expanding high-speed intercity network.
Designed by Farrells, this massive form spans 320,000 square meters of floor area situated in 31 acres of land. In comparison, the railway station beats Beijing National Stadium (the Bird’s Nest) in both size and area, making it one of the largest railway stations in Asia and indeed the largest in Beijing.
The project was both an improvement to the existing train station, which had been in operation from 1897 until 2006, and a crucial project for the Beijing Olympics of 2008. It's no surprise that it was finished so quickly, with construction spanning three years, commencing in 2006 when the old train station was closed and completing in early 2008, just months before the Olympic Games began. The station is a key component of China's new high-speed rail network, serving as a terminal for trains traveling at speeds of up to 350 km/hr (217mph).
The architects had to design for huge capacities while adhering to an architectural form that was basic, straightforward, and people-focused. For a station that was expected to serve over 285,000 people per day, the design had to account for the varied operations and administration of the multiple lines, station entrances, exits, waiting spaces, and interchange zones.
The design is a basic elliptical designed to accommodate three main floor levels and two mezzanine floors. The mezzanines house parking lots and two supplementary gateway office buildings. As the architects explain, it was critical that such a large number of passengers going and arriving be divided. The architects also intended to make sure that the distance traveled by passengers before boarding or disembarking a train was as short as possible, saving time and alleviating traffic at the station faster.
The underground basement parking was planned to accommodate 909 automobiles. Separate zones were added into the design to facilitate the seamless transition and integration of various forms of motor traffic. Some of the zones have 28 taxi drop-off bays, 24 taxi pickup bays, and 138 queuing spots. There was also a 38-bus space with 12 drop-off points, 26 pick-up bays, and 48 queueing places.
The transport hub’s elliptical plan also complements the vehicular traffic flow. An overhead road network is flexible to adjusting to traffic flows and taking cars in and out from all directions, leading to reduced congestion in the urban roads surrounding the railway station.
The facility includes 11 island platforms and 2 side platforms, and all high-speed, express, and intercity trains have platform edges, for a total of 24. The basement floors have two island stations with four platform edges for Metro trains.
Built by 4,000 workers who worked on making sense of 60,000 tonnes of steel and 490,000 cubic meters of concrete, the station’s ceiling was outfitted with 3,246 solar panels to generate electricity. The waiting area is also a humongous 251,000 square meters with a capacity to accommodate 10,000 passengers.
The subway concourse has eight arrival gates. The arrivals and departures zones are lined with ticket machines and desks, as well as a selection of eateries and corner stores. An elevated departure concourse houses waiting spaces and VIP lounges.
Because the station will service three cities, including Beijing, linking to Tianjin and Shanghai, the entire catchment area will be up to 270 million people, with the station scheduled to serve 105 million passengers annually by 2030. The architects developed public amenity areas by incorporating a planted pedestrian area into the formal north-south axis.
In general, the urban link formed by the Beijing South Railway Station serves as a gateway to the city of Beijing. Uniting the railway fan and the city grid optimizes the station's impact on the surrounding area. With the reported number of domestic visitors in China reaching 2.1 billion in 2010, this massive oval-shaped train station will remain a favorite among the many who choose to travel by rail rather than air.
Project information
Architects:
Farrells
Client: The City of Beijing
Location:
Beijing, China
Collaborators: Tianjin Design Institute
Completed: 2008
GFA: 320,000 square metres
Photography: Farrells, Lv Hao, Zx1984, Filip M.A., Jun Wei Fan
