ma yansong on MAD’s first transit-oriented project, a ‘train station in the forest’ in jiaxing
CategoriesArchitecture

ma yansong on MAD’s first transit-oriented project, a ‘train station in the forest’ in jiaxing

MAD architects unveils sunken train station in jiaxing, china

 

MAD Architects unveils Jiaxing Train Station (see designboom’s previous coverage here), the firm’s first transit-oriented infrastructure reconstruction and expansion project. Departing from the conventional pursuit of monumental transportation structures in China, the architects built an underground hub, replacing a dysfunctional train station that had stood at the site between 1995 and 2019. The submerged station, presented as a discreet structure, accentuates the historic station while integrating an extensive park featuring verdant spaces envisioned as an urban oasis in the densely populated area.

 

Lead architect Ma Yansong prioritized the project’s human-centric and efficient design ethos, contrasting with imposing and secluded Chinese transportation facilities typically bordered by expansive main roads, viaducts, and vacant squares. ‘They are like isolated islands where nobody likes to go unless they have to take the train,’ he tells designboom. ‘People should not feel lost in a vast space that makes them feel disoriented.’ MAD’s design revolutionizes the functions of transportation structures by largely relocating them underground, challenging traditional concepts and introducing the ‘train station in the forest’ concept. To delve deeper into this new typology, its design concept, and the challenges encountered during its realization, designboom spoke with Ma Yansong himself. Read the full interview below. 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing
the Jiaxing Train Station from above | photography by AC

 

 

interview with ma yansong

 

designboom (DB): What is the design philosophy behind the Jiaxing Train Station? 

 

Ma Yansong (MY): It’s not just a train station; it’s a part of an urban renewal. That area is a central part of the city, but nobody wants to visit it because the environment there is really bad. The only reason people go there is to take a train. However, I think the train station is not just for its function. It has to regenerate the whole area. It’s important to let this train station become an attractive, urban space that, no matter if they’re taking the train or not, people enjoy. Our design has a more environmental feel to it. We see more urban spaces in the project. There is the transportation function, but we also have a commercial function; we have offices, and parks. In addition, we kept the traditional building, the old train station from 100 years ago, and we made it into a small museum, so we added a cultural aspect to the transformation as well. Now, young people, old people, businessmen, travelers, families—they all have a purpose to go to the area. 

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 

 

DB: How does the project separate itself from traditional designs of transportation structures?

 

MY: Through the years, China has developed a lot of train tracks for fast-speed trains all over the country. They have allowed people to travel around different cities, and of course, they have helped the economy. In a way, train stations have become symbolic in China. A lot of stations are very monumental; they are very large with huge plazas in front of them. In most cases, the train tracks are elevated. As a result, the stations feel disconnected from the rest of the city. They are like isolated islands where nobody likes to go unless they have to take the train. I understand those buildings have a symbolic purpose, but I think for both train stations and urban spaces, we need more humanity. We need something easier, with convenient access. People should not feel lost in a vast space that makes them feel disoriented. With these thoughts in mind, we decided to make a low-key architectural project. If you look at this building from a high level, it’s really low. We have used this low height to put the focus on the historical building, which is also a very small building. Most of the functions in our project are underground. From above, everyone sees only parks and greenery. 

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 

 

DB: You mentioned that the design preserves the original 1907 station. Why was it important for you to look to the past? How did you balance historical preservation with contemporary functionality?

 

MY: The old building is part of the city’s history. History needs to be preserved, especially when we want to design a so-called futuristic building. I like to show all these different times and the historical layers, and I want to show them at the same time. Once you go visit this space, you will see these historical elements and some abstract new spaces. You will think, ‘This is futuristic. This is something I recognize from 100 years ago.’ Different narratives are unfolding. Urban space needs to have these layers so that people can fully understand what the project is about. Then, of course, history gives us a reason to design something new where past and present are still equal. When we put all these layers in an equal position, the citizens find more freedom because they don’t feel like they only belong to the past or the future. In any case, I didn’t want the futuristic character to dictate the whole atmosphere.

The old building was important, though not architecturally valuable. It is part of history, so that’s what makes it significant. It also gave us the excuse to create a new building that was very small compared to other train station constructions. I was able to build a low structure that respects the old building, which is already quite small. In a way, that is how I convinced the system, the government, to do something different and not build a huge train station like other transportation hubs in China. 

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 


DB: Can you elaborate on the significance of placing the busy transport hub underground, and expanding the existing park? Did you face any challenges during the design and construction?


MY:
Most Asians are used to a very dense urban context when it comes to transportation hubs because a station has to serve its main function, which is, of course, the transportation of people. In this case, though, we have multiple functions, and most of them are now placed underground. We designed and introduced a new typology, essentially.  Since everything is underground, there has to be a new design that facilitates the use of the infrastructure. 

There was an existing park at the north of the site that was gated. We made it open and expanded it. We planted more trees, and we grew the green space to connect the train station with this old park, and then to a new park to the south. The two parks are now connected through the underground. Making this urban center blend into the green, was poetic, but it was also the main purpose of our project. We wanted to create something open.

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 

 

MY (continued): One of the main challenges we faced was convincing others about the development. It’s more of an ideological challenge. We had to explain why this new train station looks like this. There were long discussions in the beginning. Also, we had to make sure that enough commercial spaces were accommodated in the project so that the whole thing could be supported. The second challenge was the fact that the train could not stop working during the whole construction. Every day, the train had to continue moving. That made the construction quite a challenge. Everything was completed very quickly and in parts. First, it was the north platform, then the north train station, then the north building. But it was also a challenge to do this amount of underground construction at such a quick pace. Again, through everything, the train had to keep on moving. 

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 

ma yansong on MAD's first transit-oriented project, a 'train station in the forest' in jiaxing

 

Reference

Ma Yansong picks six highlights from Blueprint Beijing exhibition
CategoriesInterior Design

Ma Yansong picks six highlights from Blueprint Beijing exhibition

Architect Ma Yansong, the curator of Blueprint Beijing, a feature exhibition exploring the future of the Chinese capital at the 2022 Beijing Biennial, shares six of his highlight installations from the show.

Ma, the founding partner of Chinese architecture studio MAD, invited 20 architects and artists of different generations from around the world to present their visions for the future of the city of Beijing in a variety of mediums including architectural models, installations, photography and videos.

Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong
Blueprint Beijing is the feature exhibition at the inaugural 2022 Beijing Biennial curated by MAD’s founding partner Ma Yansong

Blueprint Beijing is a comparative study of history and the future of Beijing and the world,” Ma told Dezeen.

“We compiled a compendium of seminal events, people and ideologies from around the world that have vividly explored the theme of ‘the future’, such as Archigram, Oscar Niemeyer and many more, that have had a significant impact on current architects, and have influenced changes in Beijing’s urban planning in relation to major events.”

“The works of several creators selected here traverse the dimensions of time, space and geography, and their personal creative imagination has brought distinct significance to the exhibition,” he added.

Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong
Twenty architects and artists from around the world are invited to re-imagine the future of the city

The exhibition also presents material taken from historic archives about eight architects and collectives that have showcased visionary ideas, as well as four Chinese science fiction films with historic significance.

Here, Ma has selected six of his highlights from Blueprint Beijing for Dezeen:


Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong

Restaurant Inside the Wall, by Drawing Architecture Studio, 2023

“The Restaurant Inside the Wall installation is presented as a graphic novel, with a restaurant hidden inside the wall as the protagonist. Drawing Architecture Studio (DAS) transformed the graphic novel into a spatial experience in order to strengthen the absurd and suspenseful atmosphere of the story, by collaging and connecting the real elements of various street stalls.

“Drawing from the observation of urban spaces in China, DAS has discovered a lot of unexpected pockets of wisdom embedded in everyday urban scenes, and roadside ‘holes in the wall’ are an example of this. This installation adds a microscopic daily footnote to the grand avant-garde urban blueprint for the future.”


Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong

Filter City & City as a Room, by Peter Cook from Cook Haffner Architecture Platform, 2020-2022

“In this installation, Peter Cook dissects two of his drawings – Filter City (2020) and City as a Room (2022) – into elements that concentrate on sequences.

“Cook utilizes his signature strategy of creating concept drawings that remain connected to the built environment, while also moving towards a new future-looking ‘hybrid’, particularly interiors, that can be created from fragments of drawing and images.

“As a result, viewers can transcend from distant observers into participants.”


Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong

Liminal Beijing, by He Zhe, James Shen and Zang Feng from People’s Architecture Office, 2022

“The installation of Liminal Beijing, created by People’s Architecture Office, connects the city of Beijing in different time and space. It features a knot of radiant, winding, and rotating tubes that can be interpreted as pneumatic tubes transporting documents in the 19th century or the hyperloops developed today, representing the link between the future and the past.

“Modern life would not be possible without the hidden system of ducts that deliver heating, cooling, and clean air. Air ducts in Liminal Beijing are made visible so they can be explored and occupied, and are presented as missing fragments of space and time.”


Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong
Photo is by Jerry Chen

Astro Balloon 1969 Revisited x Feedback Space, 2008, by Wolf D Prix from Coop Himmelb(l)au, 2022 edition

“This installation was realized by combining two of Coop Himmelb(l)au’s previous works: Heart Space – Astro Balloon in 1969 and Feedback Vibration City in 1971, which were first shown in this form at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008.

“The resulting installation is a cloud-like, semi-transparent and reflective floating space that translates visitors’ heartbeats into a lighting installation.

“Throughout its practice, Coop Himmelb(l)au has presented numerous futuristic ‘architectural’ prototypes of dwellings which are responsive to the sensibilities and activities of their inhabitants.”


Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong

Beijing In Imagination, by Wang Zigeng, 2023

“Chinese architect Wang Zigeng illustrates two city models that were informed by visual imagery of mandalas on the floor and ceiling of the exhibition space, expressing the tension between the ideal city and the chaos of the real world — a parallel reality of both the present and the future.

“He believes Beijing is the embodiment of ancient cosmologies and an ideal city prototype through the ritualization of urban space – the establishment of political and moral order as a highly metaphorical correspondence between human behavior and nature.”


Blueprint Beijing curated by Ma Yansong

Pao: A Dwelling for Tokyo Nomad Women II, by Toyo Ito, 2022 Beijing edition

“This installation explores what living means for city dwellers in a consumerist society. Even today, half of the population living in Tokyo are living alone, and having a place to sleep is all one needs. Pao is a light and temporary structure that can be dissolved in the buzz of the metropolis.

“This is a new edition of Toyo Ito’s previous work Pao: A Dwelling for Tokyo Nomad Women. By recreating the installation in Beijing while coming out of a global pandemic, Ito hopes to provide a space for visitors to reflect on the excessive consumerism that has continued to dominate the present.”

The Photography is by Zhu Yumeng unless otherwise stated.


Blueprint Beijing is on show at the 2022 Beijing Biennial Architecture Section at M WOODS Hutong in Beijing until 12 March 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Reference