366
2016 ¥ 4 ∂
Transfer Terminal at Arnhem’s Central Train Station Architects: UNStudio, Amsterdam Team: Ben van Berkel with Arjan Dingsté Structural engineers: BAM Advies & Engineering, ABT, Arup, Amsterdam Others involved in the project: see page 429
www.detail.de Since 1996, UNStudio has been at work ona master plan for the entire district around Arnhem’s central station. By 2020, it is expected that some 110,000 passengers per day will pass through the station. For years the two towers erected in the first phase – one blue and one green – stood isolated, and the parking garage lacked an entrée. In this context, the rounded openings above Willemsplein, an expressway that had just been resituated below grade, and the long roofs above the train platforms were perplexing. With the completion of the 22,000 m2 transfer hall, the architects have inserted the overarching linking element between the different components of this infrastructure pro-
ject. At street level passengers have access to the bus station (for long-distance travel) and the pedestrian tunnel to the train platforms 8 metres above ground level. In the square in front of the station, at 4.40 metres below grade, the bus station (local traffic) docks onto the complex; from here bicyclists head down to the two-storey bike garage, which also accommodates a workshop and a bike-rental shop. The parking garage extends two levels below the bike garage. The spatial arrangement of the transfer hall, but above all, the manner in which the different levels are connected by means of a system of ramps and sloped levels, stems largely from three-dimensional
analyses of passenger flow and sightlines. The daily operation of this ambitious project functions astonishingly smoothly. Because the hall allows an unimpeded view in all directions to the different means of transportation, persons arriving here for the first time quickly get their bearings – even without wayfinding signage. The office towers are visible – even from the underground levels – through expansive glazed skylights, further aiding orientation. The project’s generous scope pivots on the central architectural element, which incorporates load-bearing structure, circulation and lighting: it’s been dubbed The Twist. On the second belowgrade level, this 16-metre-high, double-