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Renowned architecture firm MAD Architects recently unveiled an impressive new train station in southeastern China. The entire scheme revolves around rebuilding a 100-year-old train station, completely rebuilding it brick by brick, and it now serves as a large modern transport hub partially sunk underground.
Designer: MAD Architects
The original station known as Jiaxing Railway Station or Forest Railway Station was built in 1907, later destroyed and rebuilt in 1937. After another redesign in 1995, in 2019 it was deemed too small to meet modern requirements and MAD was commissioned to completely transform it. The station was an important transportation hub for the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1921, from which MAD drew inspiration. Interestingly, they reconstructed the original train station, and after expert inference and referring to a large number of old photos and documents, they successfully replicated one. The building was constructed using 21,000 mud bricks pulled from a nearby lake, much of which is underground.
“MAD envisions a new station that will be more user-friendly and efficient than its predecessor,” China Studio explains. “The overall design of the interior maintains a dialogue with the reconstructed 1907 station through glass curtain walls, clearly expressing the height difference between the two structures and the entrance.
The building’s entrance and exit platforms, main transport and commercial functions, and waiting halls are now underground, defying traditional design concepts. The railway station currently has 3 platforms and 6 lines, and the upstream and downstream main lines each have 2 arrival and departure lines. By 2025, the station will be able to accommodate 5.28 million passengers per year, with an hourly capacity of 2,500 people.
Because the structure is sunken, MAD was able to take full advantage of the landscape, planting nearly 1,500 new trees while rearranging the site to mimic rolling green hills. It is also connected to a park and a central lawn that will serve as an outdoor venue for concerts and arts festivals. Sustainability has also been incorporated into the train station, with solar panels installed to reduce consumption on the grid. Extensive glazing is used to maximize natural light.
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