Mexican and English architecture office Aidia Studio has designed a train station for Tulum with a sweeping latticed roof that will be built on the Tren Maya railway line in Mexico.
Aidia Studio designed the perforated roof made from structural steel and glass-reinforced concrete panels to enclose over the platforms and concourse.
The geometric grid will be glazed in places to keep out the rain and lined with wood on the inside.
The studio designed the station to respond to Tulum's climate. The town is on the Yucatan peninsula, which has a tropical climate characterised by high temperatures, humidity and a rainy season.
"To deal with this extreme weather, we envisaged a large open lattice roof, glazed in strategic locations, enabling public semi-open spaces that function without mechanical ventilation," said studio founders Rolando Rodriguez-Leal and Natalia Wrzask.
Smaller openings in areas that receive the midday sun are worked into the roof's pattern, which is designed to create shady spots and allow sea breezes to waft through the station.
The roof is highest in the middle to accommodate a second level of shops and restaurants on a mezzanine level over the railway lines and platforms.
It raises at both ends to create a dramatic entrance and exit for trains and dips down again on either side.
"The motifs on both outer and inner sides are reminiscent of Mayan traditional geometrical patterns," explained Aidia Studio.
Tulum is famous for its Mayan ruins and pristine Caribbean coastline, which has made it an increasingly popular travel destination.
Aidia Studio said they were keen to ensure the station took up as little space as possible in the landscape.
"An eye-shaped footprint, widest at the centre where the main functions of the station converge, seemed the most efficient use of space," they explained.
"This was enhanced by taking the least possible area adjacent to the tracks and compensating by stacking the public programme of the station above the platforms."
The station is part of Tren Maya, a plan to build a 1,525-kilometre intercity railway across the Yucatan Peninsula in a loop between Palenque and Cancún. This station would serve the Cancún to Tulum stretch of the line.
Construction on the Tulum train station is due to start in January 2022 and complete by the end of 2023.
Recent projects in the coastal town include a pink apartment complex, holiday residences with rooftop pools and a bamboo yoga pavilion.
Project credits:
Architect: Aidia Studio
Lead architects: Rolando Rodriguez-Leal & Natalia Wrzask
Design team: Mariano González Silva, Emilio Vásquez Hoppenstedt, Rodrigo Wulf Sánchez
Client: Fonatur Tren Maya