Kyongju High Speed Railway Station

The building draws on significant symbols (Taeguk and Mugunghwa) and their meanings whilst sympathetically responding to the site and surrounding landscape. The emphasis of strong lines, juxtaposed with organic form delicately establish the presence of the building within the Coastal Range landscape. The colour scheme is based on white to enliven the natural colours around it, and its individuality is expressed in the choice of materials: tile, stainless steel and solar panels. The integration of functional and structural concepts with the goal of achieving effective use of natural energy has resulted in an Eco - Transportation architectural facility. The effective use of such concepts as: passive solar heating and cooling, active solar heating, day - lighting or sun - lighting and natural ventilation have ensured the facility does not become a random consumer of energy. The building structure represents a systemised set of criteria directed at achieving a structure of effective load carrying ability teamed with the symbolic and dynamic representation of a futuristic high - speed railway system. . The function of the 'rib' skeleton is one of great importance. It was intended that the resultant form achieve a desirable dynamic aesthetic, while also providing the optimum skeleton on which to wrap a skin of transparent active solar cells; and hence provide shelter. The skeleton's other primary function is to counter the destructive forces of seismic action by way of isolating the structure into a series of parts similar to that of a human spine. To that end each bay can move independently of each other, whilst maintaining the integrity of the structure and its membrane components. Simultaneous Arrival and Departure Configurations combined with an emphasis on the experience of arrival and departure, and a unique architectural style, allow the facility to signify the gateway to the city, as a representative landmark. Organised around a single major axis in a vast softly undulating landscape, the dynamic relationship between the facility and the site paradoxically makes the architecture autonomous, yet at ease with its surrounds. The planning and design for the Kyognju High Speed Railway Station has been undertaken with a primary commitment to the ongoing technological development and recognition of Korea. The station, while being used as a vehicle for illustrating Korea's advanced capability in the harnessing of solar energy, is an attempt at a significantly meaningful contemporary Korean architecture, that draws heavily on the rich history of the Land, its people and religion.