Rapid City York
Rapid City York
Owned by NMSI, the umbrella organisation that includes the Science Museum, the masterplan for Rapid City expands and improves the already successful National Railway Museum in York. The project is located on a 9 hectare former rail yard adjacent to York Station and seeks to improve and enhance the role of the museum, persuading visitors to stay longer, spending more time and boosting tourism in the city as a whole. At the same time the idea was to rebrand the museum and prevent it feeling like a site of only historical interest, broadening its scope from railways to other forms of movement, transport and communications.
To achieve this, the masterplan, designed in partnership with landscape architect West 8, exhibition designer Imagination and American sustainability expert William McDonough, proposed that the site should operate as an extension of York's urban fabric rather than a self-contained visitor attraction. By creating a combination of museum facilities, public space and commercial developments it builds on the museum's prominent riverside setting and its views towards the city. New apartments cloak an inelegant modern industrial train shed and will generate funding for cultural facilities.
To achieve this, the masterplan, designed in partnership with landscape architect West 8, exhibition designer Imagination and American sustainability expert William McDonough, proposed that the site should operate as an extension of York's urban fabric rather than a self-contained visitor attraction. By creating a combination of museum facilities, public space and commercial developments it builds on the museum's prominent riverside setting and its views towards the city. New apartments cloak an inelegant modern industrial train shed and will generate funding for cultural facilities.
Elsewhere the project establishes a series of robust 'universal buildings' that will stand the test of time and have the ability to be flexible, providing space for a range of possible activities including residential, commercial, light industrial and educational uses.
Currently the area is dominated by train tracks used to display rolling stock and connect into the rail network. These have the effect of sterilising and disconnecting the site. To overcome this, a series of giant cranes rather than rails are used to move trains around, immediately freeing up space at the heart of the site. A similar technique is used in the Riga New Urban Centre. Both projects include a national railway museum and share the challenges of disconnection and the opportunities for transformation.
Currently the area is dominated by train tracks used to display rolling stock and connect into the rail network. These have the effect of sterilising and disconnecting the site. To overcome this, a series of giant cranes rather than rails are used to move trains around, immediately freeing up space at the heart of the site. A similar technique is used in the Riga New Urban Centre. Both projects include a national railway museum and share the challenges of disconnection and the opportunities for transformation.
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