Page 76 - Designing Ways 264

The interaction of design and topography
Tehran Entrance Photo credit: Ali Ehsani

Plaza Station

Tehran, Iran

he design subject of this project was to transform the
forgotten urban space around the “Sadeghiyeh” metro
Tstation into a lively urban plaza. “Sadeghiyeh” is the first
metro station built in Tehran, and it’s considered to be one of the
most important terminals in town as a “Transporting Hub”. This hub
encourages commuters to use different kinds of transport modes,
from the metro to buses, taxis, cars, and bicycles. Due to the transport
exchange facilities in Sadeghiyeh, this point in town is considered a
focal point for passengers and locals to pause and socially interact,
which conversely brings about a lot of environmental disruption and
disorder to the neighbourhood. To be more specific the issues that
were brought up as a result were:

• The violation of pedestrian sidewalks by vehicles and vice versa.
• The takeover of this space as a passenger parking lot creates
visual pollution.
• The crowd of vendors on busy sidewalks leading to the
station brings about a lot of inconvenience for passengers and
pedestrians.
• The gathering of taxi vehicles in front of the station’s entrance.
• The lack of public space for social and cultural ceremonies.

The implementation of this project addresses several issues:
1. Systematising the different types of uses of the plaza (a suitable
location for vendors, a space for social interactions and events,
and a green landscape to enjoy).
2. Allocating a suitable pick-up and drop-off point for taxis so that
cars and pedestrians don’t cross paths.

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