1  RAILROAD WAITING ROOM*

…railroad waiting rooms are oriented around LARGE STRUCTURES (2); with their fundamental feature being the use of SEATING ARRANGEMENTS in PATTERNS (3, 4).

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            The railroad waiting room provides an area for both boredom and excitement, thus resolving two fundamentally opposed emotions.

            Every railroad station has a waiting room, and though it is often overlooked as the least important aspect of the railroad structure itself, it is in actuality the most important because of the dynamic environment it creates.

First and foremost, railroad waiting rooms are for waiting. They allow people who are waiting for a train to depart to pass the time without anxiety, and those who are expecting a train to arrive to anticipate the arrival without anxiety.

Second, railroad waiting rooms are for meeting. Whether a person is waiting for another person, or a train, they are in a sense waiting to interact with something.

The question, then, is how does the architect reconcile these diametrically opposed forces and uses? By using the elements of light, seating, and space the architect is able to convey a number of uses for the space, despite its small size.

 The ingredients of a successful waiting room seem to be:

1.)                          The waiting room should be located perpendicular to the train tracks to allow one to see the train tracks from only one side of the waiting room. This creates a subtle division between those awaiting people, and those awaiting trains.

2.)                          There are large windows that allow for both light and visibility to the train tracks.

3.)                          A central, decorated, and wide walkway that runs vertically through the room. The walkway allows for both decoration and functionality. It also gives the room depth and dimension, and also anchors the users focus within the room.

4.)                          Seating placed alongside the walkway, but closer to the windows. This seating should also be arranged in an irregular way. This design will allow for a number of uses, and can provide a sense of intimacy, privacy, or welcome.

5.)                          An analog clock, conspicuously placed, that allows all to see what time it is.

The author believes these fundamental qualities to be essential to any railroad station waiting room. The quality of the railroad waiting room, however, is not unique to only this setting. Indeed, any waiting room is necessarily dependent upon its uses.

            Therefore:

            Create a light, open environment that creates subtle divisions through the use of seating. Keep the room minimally decorated, where the main accents should be found in the carpet and seat decoration. Lastly, make sure there is a clock clearly visible to all users, and that if there are two clocks, they correspond exactly.

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            Build a railroad that utilizes LIGHT, SEATING, and SPACE equally, while placing emphasis on accuracy and TIME (5-8).

Nick Ellis
Professor Borchers
CS 377C
April 22. 2001