The sense/sensation of space : a Railway Science, Technology and History Museum

Abstract

The development of station design provided new dimensions to both the sense and sensation of space. This is to be recaptured in the design of the museum, which requires obtaining an understanding of the influence, implications and impact railway stations and their supporting infrastructure had on architecture, the cityscape and the urban fabric, due to their large size, area and enclosed volume. Station design has contributed to modern design through the need to satisfy the uninterrupted, free-space enclosure of large volumes, necessitating progress in the knowledge of the structural application of the new materials discovered during the Industrial Revolution from which the modern architect is still benefiting. The impact of stations in these three mentioned fields furthermore had an indirect impact on society. The determination of all these influences by stations and their design will form the research subject of this dissertation.