This story is part of a larger article on designing the Train Stations of Tomorrow. Read the full article here.
Inès investigates how the movement of people within and around urban train stations influences their design. She is especially focussed on one common issue: obsolescence. When areas like tunnels or corners fall out of use, they can become unsafe. A vicious cycle develops: from neglect, to abandonment, to antisocial behaviour, to more neglect, eventually affecting the whole area. “I imagine the station as a living organism, with people as its blood. If a part becomes cut off, it will die and infect its surroundings. For example, when Cambridge built a new train station, the back entrance quickly became a hotspot for sex work. It made even the surrounding neighbourhood feel unsafe.”
Future train stations must avoid such vicious cycles, and Inès will guide them. She can already point to relatively simple steps. “Distribute services, such as buses or taxis, between the back and front of the station. Add housing complexes among offices and shops so the station area doesn’t become entirely deserted at night. Improve visibility: ensure sightlines, install lighting, construct see-through walls. And make sure every section has multiple escape routes.” Through well-informed design, we can cure obsolescence before it has the chance to harm the stations of tomorrow.
PhD candidate Inès Zaid
Some of Inès’s earliest memories are of her father’s model train set. “When I was maybe 4 years old, my bedroom was completely taken over. Dad justified his purchase to my mother as ‘toys for Inès’, but it was really his hobby.”
Her father’s excuse became a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a teenager, Inès sketched train stations and bridges. “I studied the interior space of stations: which design choices were made? How do people use it?” During her architectural studies, Inès’ fascination continued: “Every project featured a station.” For example, she submitted a redesign for Oxford station and its surroundings. “The current station looks like a LIDL, but worse! What a horrible first impression for visitors.” Parallel to her education, Inès worked as a junior architect in Luxembourg, Germany, and the US.
Inès Zaid
“When I was maybe 4 years old, my bedroom was completely taken over by my father's model trainset. Dad justified his purchase to my mother as ‘toys for Inès’, but it was really his hobby.”