Initial designs and ideas for the Taxi rank redesign project.

The taxi rank was built alongside the bus station in the 1960s when there was a need to ease congestion on the roads. They did this by joining several stations to make one main hub for Preston's travel network, complete with the taxi rank directly next to it for people to travel to their door. The bus station was the longest in Europe when it was built and is iconic to Preston. It has successfully improved the traffic flow in the area, but recently the taxi rank isn’t used.

When I think of the existing taxi rank and the bus station, I can’t help but notice the rush and impatience of people, including myself when travelling. There’s a sense of constant movement, and often isolation as passengers focus purely on where they are going and do not take the time to think about anyone else.

Although, to juxtapose the rushing, once people are in the vehicle taking them to their destination, they are forced to stop temporarily and have some time to think. Taxi drivers themselves are very patient people, waiting around for passengers who need their service because the persons time is too valuable to waste.

The taxi ranks existing structure creates a circular flowing movement as the taxis drive slowly around the rank picking up passengers. My redesign imitates the slow but continual movement, similar to a conveyor belt, and links with my initial thoughts of slowing the pace down and relaxing people.

Here are my first floor plan and cafe sketches