The architecture of ancient civilizations surprisingly still has enough influence to inspire a new-age working construction. Taking a leaf out of the pages from the ancient Maya civilization era architecture, a brand new railway station is under construction in Mexico, applying the Mayan design and techniques.
The Train Station
The much-awaited new railway station is going to service the popular tourist town of Tulum in the Yucatan state of Mexico. Carrying forward the legacy of over a thousand years old Maya civilization, the inventive designs and techniques are being reused in a refreshed modern way, to build the new station, along with a railway line with a length of 950 miles.
The Design
The English-Mexican designer architecture studio ‘Aidia’ is given responsibility for the whole project. Inspired by Mayan construction methods, the studio has designed a train roof shaped like a giant eyeball. The platform will have a lattice-patterned ceiling. Structured steel and concrete panels reinforced with fiberglass will be placed parallel to a geometric grid to construct the perforated large roof overhead, which will be glazed in strategic places before a fitted finish with polished hardwoods.
The Vision
The stunning design of the train station aims to handle the extreme tropical climate of the Yucatan peninsula. According to the designers, the envisaged aerodynamic geometry of the large lattice roof will crucially let the sea air in but keep the rain out, creating mechanical ventilation-free fully functioned semi-open public spaces. This lack of mechanized ventilation and surrounding foliage makes the design more sustainable. Inspired by the artful light and shadow techniques of the Mayan constructions, the calculated perforation of the roof will also funnel piercing sunlight through the station, projecting different geometric patterns on the platform floors and walls, hence creating a mystical play of light and shadow within the space. The designers have reinterpreted the ancient Mayan spatial quality in a contemporary way, perfectly honoring the Mayan heritage.