In designing Rea Vaya's eye-catching stations, the architects were inspired by international standards and trends, from the grand Victorian railway station to the high-tech architecture of airports.

Designed to suit Gauteng conditions

The stations have three main components - base, platform and structure. The base and platform are made of a series of precast concrete culverts finished with a pigmented screed, and the structure has sloping steel pylons and a cantilevered roof. The stations' side screens are made from steel tubing and laminated safety glass panels.

Jonathan Manning, the principal architect at Ikemeleng Architects, which designed the stations, says his team wanted to foster a unique identity for each station through a series of "bold" architectural elements.

"The roof is made up of a series of splayed, overlapping planes that allude to organically formed African townscapes like Alexandra and Sophiatown. The red-painted structural pylons thrust diagonally skywards evoke lightning strikes hitting the ground during a highveld thunderstorm."

He says the design was inspired by international standards and trends – from the grand Victorian railway station to the high-tech architecture of airports. "Transport buildings are emphasised structurally and functionally and derive form and celebrate engineering detail."

The stations, he says, are aligned with a hi-tech architectural tradition "albeit in a form that is subverted to the cultural and climatic specifics of Gauteng. The station design exposes and celebrates the joining of structural members, planes, elements and materials together to form a didactic ‘kit of parts.'"

The design was based on the idea that a commuter should spend less than 20 minutes waiting for a bus. The structure was never conceived as a completely weather-proof, sealed building, but rather as a naturally ventilated shelter. "Rea Vaya stations were designed to ensure that passengers do not get too hot when the stations get busy during peak hours, especially during the warm summer months."

ARCHITECTURAL BRIEF

The brief was that the structure needed to offer commuters an adequate level of comfort, security, safety and shelter. Manning says this included the overall dimensions of the sheltered station module, the location of the stations in road medians, the raised platforms and ramped access walkways and that the design should be modular to facilitate rapid on-site construction.

Stations are spacious and airy

"The brief comprised a number of non-negotiable elements that are essential to the efficient functioning of all BRT [Bus Rapid Transit] systems. A series of negotiable elements, including architectural form, colour and materiality, were the subject of a two-stage stakeholder engagement process, during which three alternative designs were discussed," Manning notes.

Architects also needed to take into account that the stations should be city landmarks. "The Rea Vaya BRT project in many ways rebrands the notion of public transport in South Africa, through provision of a high quality service within a clean and modern environment."

Manning says he and his team wanted the station design to visually embody the rebranded notion of public transport, and to become icons of a new BRT system and Joburg's cosmopolitan urban identity.

Engraved art on the stations' glass panels reflect the demographics, culture and heritage of the communities in which the stations are located. "Location-specific identity is engendered through a pair of artwork panels positioned on the side screens of the ticketing area of each station," he adds.

Stations were designed to be flexible and modular, to respond to a variety of variables and constraints. "Due to variation in existing roadway cross-sections and city block lengths, many of the stations needed to fit within confined spaces, meaning that platform lengths and widths were often variable."

The station layout and structure was designed to accommodate various bus lengths and their specific door configurations. A series of standardised pre-fabricated elements were manufactured off-site and assembled on-site to reduce the on-site construction period and limit traffic disruption.

DISABLED ACCESS

Another key consideration in the design was the requirement of accessibility and inclusivity for people with disabilities, giving rise to a number of design features that facilitate safe access for disabled passengers without the need for assistance or differential treatment, Manning says.

Commuters should spend less than 20 minutes waiting for a bus

Materials used are low maintenance and hard-wearing, with a relatively long lifespan. "The structure has been engineered to withstand most foreseeable eventualities."

Manning says they are designed to be passively cooled, facilitate cross-ventilation and draw cool air in through a gap in the side screens and allow warm air to escape through large gaps beneath the roof, without a need for mechanical extraction. "During cooler winter months the side screens shield passengers from cold breezes and the splayed roofs overlapping doorways are designed to shelter passengers as they board and alight buses during rainstorms."

Rea Vaya is a key component of the city's public transport agenda, offering a fast, efficient, secure, affordable and environmentally friendly transport system. It is transnational and has been adapted to cut traffic volumes, decrease gridlocks and reduce travelling times. It forms part of Joburg's Strategic Public Transport Network.

It was the first of its kind in South Africa, and Johannesburg has been chosen to spearhead the national project.

The Johannesburg Development Agency spent about R600-million of its capital budget on Rea Vaya's infrastructure. The JDA's mandate is to bring about and sustain economic growth in the city through developing and promoting efficient business environments and initiatives. Rea Vaya cost the City R3-billion to construct.

Manning and his partner, Ridwaan Bhana, played a pivotal role in developing the stations' early design. Bhana was the project architect for the implementation of the stations and Osmond Lange Architects, spearheaded by Vissie Fourie, were roped in to help with some design elements.

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