New railway structures. Forms, norms and actions

The processes in progress in Lombard rail infrastructures highlight two design aspects. The fi rst relates to the works themselves and the type of design approach which uses codifi ed forms, repeated patterns which give rise to buildings that are often ‘selfreferential’. These are factors due in part to a delimitation of the fi eld of expertises, and in part to the strong role which the norm has come to play in the design phase. The second is linked to the logic of the design and the relations with the places in question, often problematic environments, because affected negatively by other works and also by their proximity to urban contexts. Both aspects generate design limitations: on the one hand an inevitable ‘atopical’ placeless approach to places, an over simplifi cation of the design composition of a structure and a loss of design quality and on the other hand a large gap between the design of the infrastructure and the design of the landscape, forgetting the ‘territorial’ nature of the project.

Keywords: Infrastructure; railway structure; design quality

Alessandro Giacomel, Nuovi manufatti ferroviari. Forme, norme e azioni in "TERRITORIO" 54/2010, pp 42-46, DOI: 10.3280/TR2010-054006