Prototype Design for Tram Stop Canopy

(Background and Purpose) The tram system is newly considered to be constructed and being developed with the aspects of promoting public transportation, urban revitalization and sustainability. The tram system enhances public engagement with street activities, provides higher capacity services and requires less construction and maintenance costs, leading to the sustainable approach of transportation systems. The public building design emphasizes not only its primary functions but also the importance of multiple functions and aesthetic presence within the city and how people recognize them. As an area designated primarily for waiting, the tram stops become an important part of street images throughout the city and of user’s transit experience. This prototype design seeks to investigate opportunities of the tram stop as urban elements, and to balance the human needs for comfort and delight with its architectural expression in the city (Method) As a means of moving around the area and reaching to other public transportation facilities, the tram stop will be actively utilized in a daily basis by residents and visitors. Firstly, the design process has been initiated with understanding of the characteristics and considerations of the tram system and precedent projects analysis. Secondly, the general design directions: easy accessibility, comfort user experience and external architectural expression, were established based on what is needed in urban environment. Lastly, overall station geometry was developed with considerations of structural efficiency and various service utility integration, and finish materials and lighting design were further integrated in order to enhance general design directions. (Results) Architecturally, the cable-net structure offers a differentiated structural typology in the landscape that is readily identifiable as a tram stop. The curved glass canopy structure with its network of cables and layers of glass creates an expressive, cloud-like form that shades occupants from the sun. In response to the varied site conditions that the tram stop alignment traverses, three prototype stop configurations were developed as variations on a single architectural and structural design, supporting a coherent identity through the repetition of major building elements such as inclined columns, cable-nets, glass canopies and photovoltaic panels. The canopy enclosure consists of glass layers, various surface treatments and integrated photovoltaic wafers, and performs multiple functions of weather protection, generating energy and clear wayfinding elements. At nighttime, a soft glow on the upper surface becomes a part of the nighttime identity of the tram stop as a soft beacon that identifies the tram stop without signage. (Conclusions) The infrastructral elements in the city have great potentials of expressing city’s images to residents and visitors as they are typically located in a wide range of areas to serve the entire city. This canopy design demonstrates its potentials of not only serving its essential functions but also becoming visual icons throughout the city and creating line-wide identity, energy-generating plants and glowing beacons at nighttime. The efforts to improve public design projects to represent new images of a city and to help people memorize these moments, will have to be continued, and it will help to make our cities richer and more memorable.