Urban sense is a development project for improving the atmosphere of Burley train station through sight and smell enhancements.
Landing Page of MOCBoxing - 03/2025
What on earth is it?
The design integrates a long concrete bench with an embedded planter, creating a subtle blend of nature and infrastructure. The planter acts as a soft visual barrier, separating the seating zone from passing foot traffic and train noise. Rather than purely decorative, the greenery was intended to:
- Offer a small visual relief from concrete-heavy surroundings
- Create a gentle sense of enclosure without obstructing visibility or safety
- Encourage short stays and moments of calm while waiting for the train
- Improve the smell and create a slight calming feeling to improve the atmosphere
Urban Sense
The creation of my final product is quite an interesting one. This project was done at the back end of the covid pandemic, I had spent my first 2 years in university in my own university home unable to access any workshop facilities, so everyone on my course had very minimal skills unless they honed them in their own time.
Most people stayed well away from the workshop once we were able to access it, and created projects around digital design like CAD software and models they could make in the home. I said, screw that, I want to build something.
I went into the workshop showed my design for a seating area with an imbedded planter and asked the staff how I should go about brining my idea to life. We created several support beams around the perimeter with plywood, and then surrounded the outside with a thin board of MDF.
I am aware the final product isn't created using my ideal material but I will explain my usage of wood in the final section of this project below.
The Problem
Urban environments such as Burley train station are vastly underdeveloped, and as such creates a very anti-social atmosphere that can frankly worry users of the station whilst waiting for trains. So to combat this I wanted to create a seating area that accesses different senses such as visual and smell to improve people's experiences at the station.
An image of Burley Train Station
What would I do to improve this design?
Initially I quite liked this project, my idea of creating a safer space at the station, especially having visited this station since was actually quite a nice thought. But overall the design just would not fit in the station, and would stick out like a sore thumb.
Reconsider what people would actually consider to be a design that makes them feel safe
Understand how other stations make themselves feel safe for users
Create an initial model I can place at the station temporarily to get a better idea of how it would fit into the local space
Use a different material for the final model so I can get a better idea of tension and compression on the design (Initially I wanted it made out of a concrete style material, but unfortunately the university rejected that idea due to safety reasons)
Creation of the final product
Some rudimentary modelling ideas of different designs I had for occupying the station.