Friday 19 August 2011
Railway Design

Brunel Awards winners announced

The official award ceremony will take place in Washington on Oct. 14, 2011 with representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the AAR and the UIC making presentations to the winners

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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the UIC jointly announced that 44 projects from 12 nations have been recognized for design excellence in the 2011 Edition of the prestigious Brunel Awards International Railway Design Competition in judging recently completed in Washington, D.C. Over 150 entries were received from railway and government organizations throughout the world that own or operate railway services and/or manage rail infrastructure. Twenty projects received Brunel Awards, the highest level of recognition, while 24 others received Commendations.

The U.S. and Japan won the most Brunel Awards with five each. Other nations receiving awards are Austria, China, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The official award ceremony will take place in Washington on Oct. 14, 2011 with representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the AAR and the UIC making presentations to the winners.

The Brunel Awards competition recognizes and promotes the best in railway architecture, engineering, landscape and environmental design, product design, locomotive and car design, graphic arts, and corporate branding amongst the world’s railways. Honorary Co-Chairs of the Brunel Awards Committee are the Hon. Joseph Szabo, FRA Administrator and AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger.

“This year‘s submissions from the rail industry are evidence of the tremendous commitment to quality in design and expertise in building and maintaining a true 21st Century rail network. The Brunel Awards competition provides a platform to recognize good design while reinforcing the importance of rail in everyday life,” said Ed Hamberger.

UIC Director General, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux said, ”The Brunel Awards competition illustrates the essential role of quality design and innovative architecture in railway systems throughout the world that make them more sustainable and more beneficial to the society while at the same time more attractive and more enjoyable for their customers.”

The jury was composed of international leaders from the design and railway fields chaired by Professor Ronald Kemnitzer of Virginia Polytechnic and State University in Blacksburg,Va.
“The quality and creativity of the submissions was very high and posed a real challenge to the Jury to reach consensus in just two days of evaluation,” said Professor Kemnitzer.

Other jurors were: Chase Rynd, CEO of the National Building Museum; Angela Brady, President-elect of the Royal Institute of British Architects; Roy Allen, CEO of the U.S. Transportation Technology Center; Ignacio Barron, Director of the UIC Passenger Department; Niels Diffrient, noted American industrial designer; Pamela Loeffelman, past Vice President of the American Institute of Architects, and Professor Lars Lallerstedt, Swedish designer and educator.

The Brunel Awards are sanctioned by the Watford Group of International Railway Designers, an organization founded in 1963 and composed of railway design professionals from 20 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The Brunel Awards were created in 1985 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of England’s Great Western Railway designed by the renowned British architect and engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Subsequently, the competition has been held at three-year intervals rotating among the Watford member nations. The last time it was held in the U.S. was 1994.

BRUNEL AWARDS RESULTS BY COUNTRY

(Asterisk indicates Brunel Award; other projects received Commendations)

Austria

  • Freudenauer Harbour Bridge* - Austrian Railways (OBB)
  • Vienna Heiligenstadt Station - Austrian Railways (OBB)
  • Salzach Bridge - Austrian Railways (OBB)
  • Public Information Box at Vienna Station* - Austrian Railways (OBB)

China

Wuhan Railway Station* - China Ministry of Railways

France

  • Orleans Multi-modal Transport Hub - SNCF Gares & Connexions
  • Redevelopment of Vichy Station - SNCF Gares & Connexions
  • Bellegarde sur Valserine Station - SNCF Gares & Connexions
  • Facilities at Rungis National Food Market Paris - SNCF Semmaris

Germany

  • Frankfurt Station “Kaffeepunkt” Pavillion* - German Railways (DB)

Japan

  • Izamizawa Station* - Japan Rail Hokkaido
  • Shin Tosu Station* - Japan Railway Construction Transport Agency
  • Kumanmoto Station Passageway - Japan Rail Kyushu
  • Shin Tamana Station - Japan Railway Construction Transport Agency
  • Maglev and Railway Park Museum - Central Japan Railway
  • Hakata City Station Roof Garden & Park - Japan Rail Kyushu
  • Hakata City Station Tile Art Project - Japan Rail Kyushu
  • Kyushu Shinkansen Travel Campaign - Japan Rail Kyushu
  • Series E5 Shinkansen Trainset* - East Japan Railway
  • Narita Express E259 Trainset* - East Japan Railway
  • Series N700 High Speed Trainset* - West Japan Railway / Japan Rail Kyushu
  • HB-300 Hybrid Sightseeing Train East Japan Railway

Netherlands

  • Hilversum Station* - ProRail
  • Emmen Zuid Station* - ProRail
  • Drontemeer Tunnel Facility Service Bldg.* - ProRail

Portugal

  • Rossio Station - Portuguese Rail Infrastructure Manager (REFER)
  • Sado River Bridge* - Portuguese Rail Infrastructure Manager (REFER)
  • Lisbon Operations Control Center - Portuguese Rail Infrastructure Manager (REFER)

Spain

  • Cuenca High Speed Rail Station - Spanish Rail Infrastructure Administrator (ADIF)
  • New Seating at Laguna Station* - Spanish Rail Infrastructure Administrator (ADIF)|

Sweden

  • Malmo Railway Station Extension* - Jernhusen AB

Switzerland

  • Brig Station - Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
  • Chur Station - Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
  • Zurich Letten Viaduct Shops - Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
  • Ee992 Dual Voltage Shunting Loco - Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)

United Kingdom

  • Corporate Offices Branding Program - Network Rail

United States

  • Joseph Biden Wilmington Delaware Station* - Amtrak
  • Ft. Washington/Ambler/North Wales Stations* - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Auth.
  • Massachusetts Avenue & Columbia Road Bridges - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
  • Heartland Corridor Project - Norfolk Southern Railway
  • Croton Harmon Loco and Car Shop* - Metro North Railroad
  • Washington Union Station Bike Transit Center.* - District of Columbia Dept. of Transportation
  • Heritage Locomotive Fleet Program* - Union Pacific Railroad
  • Superliner I Coach Overhaul Program - Amtrak

Additional information is available upon request from the Center for Industrial Design in Transportation, Inc. at brunel2011@c4idt.org

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Jury members debate. Clockwise from head of table: Chair Ron Kemnitzer, Jonathan Michel(Brunel Committee/C4IDT) Pamela Loeffelman, Angela Brady, Andreas Heym (Brunel Committee/SNCF-AREP) Chase Rynd, Aileen Thomas (Brunel Committee/DB), Ignacio Barron, Niels Diffrient
Display boards were set-up on the National Building Museum’s fourth floor gallery. Jury Member Pamela Loeffelman intently reviews one of the entries.
After the Jury assessed each entry individually, the entry were ranked and collectively evaluated by the Jury as a whole.
L to R: Chase Rynd, Chair Ron Kemnitzer, Lars Lallerstedt, Angela Brady(back to camera), Niels Diffrient, Pamela Loeffelman, Ignacio Barron.
The National Building Museum provided an outstanding venue for the Jury to evaluate architectural and design work submitted by the world’s railways and infrastructure managers.