Our first concept design for a new rail station on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent have been unveiled. Working for multidisciplinary engineers Pell Frischmann and, Medway Council, the designs establish the station as an inclusive transport hub for Hoo’s residents.
The station also serves as a pilot for Network Rail’s recent ‘Our Principles of Good Design’; a design guide co-produced by BPR.
In accordance with Network Rail’s design ethos, the station utilises key place-making principles and proposes a sensitive intervention on the Hoo Peninsula by adopting a contextual approach to the design of the building.
The station and its plaza loosely-recall Hoo’s history of ship-building and, nearby Cooling Radio Station, which, is purported to have been the most complex shortwave radio station of its time; thereby creating a sense of place around the new station. The incorporation of public realm astride the station will also unlock the value of adjacent land, providing a community-focussed approach to transport-oriented development.
The core themes of the station are its ability to act as a sustainable transport hub and, the creation of a flexible space that can adapt as passenger footfall increases and, the needs of the operator, Southeastern, change over time.
The proposal will attract new passengers and the wider public to Hoo, and enable better links for 12,000 new homes that are proposed over the next twenty years on the Peninsula via the £170 million funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF).
Medway Council is now seeking feedback on the initial concepts, and members of the public can share their thoughts via
https://www.medway.gov.uk/homepage/275/housing_infrastructure_fund
until Sunday 7 March 2021 .
