The Tianjin West Railway Station In China

Tianjin, as a harbor city where many major railway lines and roads meet, represents a central transport hub to the south of Beijing. The West Station lies on the high-speed stretch of railway between Beijing and Shanghai, where 24 railway lines meet. “The railway hall in Tianjin is a reversal of the typical type of hall that shelters the platforms and tracks (…) The barrel vault is contained by a right-angled structure on four square pillars, as is typical of many functional and commercial buildings by gmp”, summarizes the architecture critic Bernhard Schulz in a detailed essay, in which he illuminates the particularities of the train station, as well as its classical references. This is supplemented by commentaries by the responsible architects about the project.0.

This book investigates China’s railway transformation through history, along with culture changes and urban development. The book begins by looking at the background of China and the history and growth of railway development in China through five key phases, followed by assessing the cultural changes in the railway carriage and exploring how these are linked to social equality and national provisions. The core of this book aims to analyse the Chinese urban transformation through the development of the high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructure in China. Eleven important new HSR stations in mainland China, plus the new Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, have been selected to contextually explore how HSR infrastructures have affected the development of the Chinese urban context. The selected case studies are the stations of Beijing South, Wuhan, Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou South, Xi’an North, Nanjing South, Chengdu East, Tianjin West, Zhengzhou East, Hangzhou East and Hong Kong West Kowloon. All of these were built between 2008 and 2018. In these case studies, the location and the intentions and success of promoting urban development are analysed and assessed. Following this, the book further investigates the peculiarities of the new HSR stations in China in comparison with stations in Europe. An assessment framework is established to evaluate the Chinese case studies comparatively with significant cases in Europe, attending to the urban structure of the area, the architectural quality, the functional diversity and the quality of the public space generated in the surrounding area.

This book investigates China’s railway transformation through history, along with culture changes and urban development. The book begins by looking at the background of China and the history and growth of railway development in China through five key phases, followed by assessing the cultural changes in the railway carriage and exploring how these are linked to social equality and national provisions. The core of this book aims to analyse the Chinese urban transformation through the development of the high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructure in China. Eleven important new HSR stations in mainland China, plus the new Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, have been selected to contextually explore how HSR infrastructures have affected the development of the Chinese urban context. The selected case studies are the stations of Beijing South, Wuhan, Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou South, Xi’an North, Nanjing South, Chengdu East, Tianjin West, Zhengzhou East, Hangzhou East and Hong Kong West Kowloon. All of these were built between 2008 and 2018. In these case studies, the location and the intentions and success of promoting urban development are analysed and assessed. Following this, the book further investigates the peculiarities of the new HSR stations in China in comparison with stations in Europe. An assessment framework is established to evaluate the Chinese case studies comparatively with significant cases in Europe, attending to the urban structure of the area, the architectural quality, the functional diversity and the quality of the public space generated in the surrounding area.

eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction 2018 collects the papers presented at the 12th European Conference on Product and Process Modelling (ECPPM 2018, Copenhagen, 12-14 September 2018). The contributions cover complementary thematic areas that hold great promise towards the advancement of research and technological development in the modelling of complex engineering systems, encompassing a substantial number of high quality contributions on a large spectrum of topics pertaining to ICT deployment instances in AEC/FM, including: • Information and Knowledge Management • Construction Management • Description Logics and Ontology Application in AEC • Risk Management • 5D/nD Modelling, Simulation and Augmented Reality • Infrastructure Condition Assessment • Standardization of Data Structures • Regulatory and Legal Aspects • Multi-Model and distributed Data Management • System Identification • Industrilized Production, Smart Products and Services • Interoperability • Smart Cities • Sustainable Buildings and Urban Environments • Collaboration and Teamwork • BIM Implementation and Deployment • Building Performance Simulation • Intelligent Catalogues and Services eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction 2018 represents a rich and comprehensive resource for academics and researchers working in the interdisciplinary areas of information technology applications in architecture, engineering and construction. In the last two decades, the biennial ECPPM (European Conference on Product and Process Modelling) conference series, as the oldest BIM conference, has provided a unique platform for the presentation and discussion of the most recent advances with regard to the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) applications in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facilities Management) domains.

This book focuses on high-speed rail (HSR) and new town planning and development related to HSR, approaching the issue from three different perspectives: economic cooperation at a regional level; HSR-based economic growth point at a city level; and mixed land use and building environment in the periphery area of HSR stations. On the basis of simulations and case studies, it proposes practical planning principles and suggestions for area development, providing planners with a theoretical framework to incorporate the transportation system into new town planning. It also serves as a valuable reference source for the authorities, enabling them to make evidence-based and rational decisions.

The built environment is at a turning point. With projected trends in population growth and urbanization, global demand for new floor area is expected to rise sharply. This will put unprecedented pressure on the availability of natural resources and incur greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand. Such environmental stressors risk driving the world away from the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but equally represent an opportunity for just sustainability transitions. The contents of this book aim to address some of these grand challenges from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Low-energy architecture, low-carbon cities and the often-forgotten sustainability of refugee settlements are some of the themes dealt with by the authors.

Over the past decade, China has built 25,000 km of dedicated highspeed railway—more than the rest of the world combined. What can we learn from this remarkable experience? China’s High-Speed Rail Development examines the Chinese experience to draw lessons for countries considering investing in high-speed rail. The report scrutinizes the planning and delivery mechanisms that enabled the rapid construction of the high-speed rail system. It highlights the role of long-term planning, consistent plan execution, and a joint venture structure that ensures active participation of provincial and local governments in project planning and financing. Traffic on China’s high-speed trains has grown to 1.7 billion passengers a year. The study examines the characteristics of the markets for which high-speed rail is competitive in China. It discusses the pricing and service design considerations that go into making high-speed rail services competitive with other modes and factors such as good urban connectivity that make the service attractive to customers. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Chinese experience is the rapid pace of high-quality construction. The report looks at the role of strong capacity development within and cooperation among China Railway Corporation, rail manufacturers, universities, research institutions, laboratories, and engineering centers that allowed for rapid technological advancement and localization of technology. It describes the project delivery structures and incentives for delivering quality and timely results. Finally, the report analyzes the financial and economic sustainability of the investment in high-speed rail. It finds that a developing country can price high-speed rail services affordably and still achieve financial viability, but this requires very high passenger density. Economic viability similarly depends on high passenger density.