For the Re-imagining Railways 2020 Competition, Network Rail invited proposals that will challenge and re-imagine what a ‘station’ could become in the 21st century. Our winning station concept, selected from over 200 international entries, is designed to capture the identity of the railways as a progressive, sustainable mode of transport which has a pivotal civic role in serving communities throughout the country.

The proposals seek to enhance the significance of a station within a local community by making it a gathering place for community activities, signified by the clocktower which will be a new local landmark.

These proposals for a new station at Cullompton, Devon, illustrate how the design could be applied to this specific location to create a vibrant, sustainable transport hub which will be a focal point for the community of this growing town.The station environment extends well beyond the platform to create civic spaces to welcome travellers and provide a placemaking framework to accommodate a diverse mix of permanent and pop-up uses which will give local people and visitors a reason to gather and linger. A “welcome mat” of public realm defines these spaces with a surface of recycled local materials, and plant species which have resonance with the locale.

We envisage that the various configurations of the pavilion structure will provide a strong and coherent representation of Network Rail’s identity throughout the country, whilst the public realm and landscape will be a tailored design response, based on common design principles, to embed it in the local context.