Design Guide

HSR Stations design guide | Architectural Design

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Design of High Speed Rail Stations

India has a huge railway network. The length and spread of railway networks is amazingly vast. India ranks first in the length of railway network in Asia and second largest in the world.

Development of High Speed rail Networks is catching up a lot of speed in Europe. USA government is taking initiatives in order to develop HSR stations and enhance their public transport system.

HSR Station design by Santiago Calatrava
HSR Station design by Santiago Calatrava

United States of America is now realizing the importance of the nature of railroads and the power and speed of trains. It was seen that the number of road accidents had considerably increased. It was found that the increase in the number of road accidents was directly proportional to the decreased use of railways.

Indian Railway Ministry has ambitious plans for the development of railways for the year 2020.

Being able to design Railway Station keeping in mind today’s needs is very important. This article is dedicated to the basics of design of High Speed Rail Station. This will give the readers an insight on the design of HSR/Metro Stations.

Let us first understand the importance and function of a Station.

Stations are places where passengers check in and check out of the train. Station is the first point of contact between the passengers and the railway. It is to be understood that stations should be well designed, comfortable, aesthetically appealing, functionally efficient (efficient layout and planning of station will ensure efficient circulation).

My entire purpose for writing an article on the Design of HSR Stations is to help you understand all the design considerations that are to be importantly incorporated.

We would be discussing the design considerations for the important station areas so that designing could get handy.

Important Station Areas:

Designing a Holiday Resort | Architecture and Design

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7 Key Design Considerations for a Perfect Holiday Resort

P.S: Article updated on 25th March 2025

When people go on holiday, they want to relax, enjoy, and escape from their busy lives. A holiday resort should feel like a dream destination—a place where guests feel comfortable, welcomed, and surrounded by beauty.

As an architect, I believe that a well-designed resort is the key to a great holiday experience. Good planning can make all the difference between a resort that people love and one they never return to.

Let’s talk about the seven most important things that make a holiday resort successful.

The success of every resort is influenced by the following seven factors:
  1. Location: The Heart of the Resort
  2. First Impressions Matter: The Look of the Resort
  3. Beautiful Landscaping: Nature Makes Everything Better
  4. Easy Movement: Guests Shouldn’t Get Lost!
  5. Quick and Friendly Service: How Design Helps Staff Work Better
  6. Cleanliness and Maintenance: A Resort Should Always Feel Fresh
  7. Good Food: A Resort Experience Isn’t Complete Without It

Let us move on with the discussion on some of the most important factors that are necessary to be considered while designing a “Holiday Resort”.

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Design considerations for Commercial Kitchen design

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How to design a Restaurant/Commercial Kitchen?

Commercial Kitchen design is completely different from the residential Kitchen design. The design considerations in terms of functionality and circulation of space play a great role. The design of services such as water supply, drainage, fire fighting, Heating and Ventilation systems, Exhausts etc play a major role in the successful working of a Kitchen.

Restaurant/Hotel Kitchen Design
Restaurant/Hotel Kitchen Design

In this article, we will discuss various design considerations for Restaurant/Hotel(Commercial) Kitchen design.

Menu

Before, we get onto designing, it is very important that we discuss the menu of the Restaurant. The type of food menu will decide the design parameters to be considered. The space has to be designed in a harmonic flow so as to serve to the increasing public without any hassle.

  1. Timings
  2. The area
  3. Peak hours – cater to peak hour timings
  4. Selection of fuels (for different items… Chinese, Indian, Continental etc) (Fuels that are generally preferred are Propane, LPG, Coal)

Departmentalization (to achieve division of labour)

The study of different departments in a Commercial kitchen is to be carried out. After the analysis of your survey, you can figure out the list of various departments that you incorporate into your Kitchen design. Ofcourse, it also depends on the wish of the client as to what all departments he would prefer in his Restaurant/Hotel.

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Issues in Housing Design | Suburbia or Highrise

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Housing Design

Housing is a fundamental need. Designing a housing complex on a sound architectural basis – blending various concepts such as environmentally friendly apartments, suburbia, medium rise and solar efficient apartments on a modular grid system of planning – while accommodating different family budgets is a gigantic task.

Housing in Brazil
Housing in Brazil

Infrastructure required for Multi-stories Units

Rapid increase in Urban population all over the world due to migration of people from rural areas, growth in information Technology, job opportunities, location of important Government offices, establishment of Multi National Companies, entertainment centres, Corporate Hospitals, etc have made Housing an ever-increasing demand. The potential to shun seemingly monotonous large spaces and to suggest alternative, best use of compact space has become the need of the day. The goal is to challenge space limits in order to allow for a more transformative Architecture in which to dwell.

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