Eric Williams.Photography

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Platform Statement

The railroad station platform is a place of dual personalities and roles. It occupies a familiar role, but one that changes psychologically depending upon whether one is starting or ending their day on it.

The platform is both a space to wait at, and to exit quickly. It carries either the first, or the last steps of a journey by rail. The platform space is temporal and always in change; it can be a bustling people filled space, or a lonely isolated place, depending upon the day and hour. Some platforms are grand and comfortable for their users; others are bare and spartan with just an unheated windbreak to offer protection from the elements. No matter how novel the platform may seem to the new traveler, for a commuter on a ritual travel pattern, it will be as much a part of the workday experience as being in the office itself.

From the anticipation of waiting for the morning train with its warm interior to the loneliness of the solitary walk home in the dark and cold, the platform is in constant flux. Just as sudden as the train’s arrival, the platform quickly transforms to its next personality.
Copyright
Eric Williams
Image Size
3599x2400 / 4.1MB
Contained in galleries
On the Platform
The railroad station platform is a place of dual personalities and roles. It occupies a familiar role, but one that changes psychologically depending upon whether one is starting or ending their day on it.<br /> <br /> The platform is both a space to wait at, and to exit quickly. It carries either the first, or the last steps of a journey by rail. The platform space is temporal and always in change; it can be a bustling people filled space, or a lonely isolated place, depending upon the day and hour. Some platforms are grand and comfortable for their users; others are bare and spartan with just an unheated windbreak to offer protection from the elements. No matter how novel the platform may seem to the new traveler, for a commuter on a ritual travel pattern, it will be as much a part of the workday experience as being in the office itself. <br /> <br /> From the anticipation of waiting for the morning train with its warm interior to the loneliness of the solitary walk home in the dark and cold, the platform is in constant flux. Just as sudden as the train’s arrival, the platform quickly transforms to its next personality.