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The Radar tower on Maasvlakte 2, Port of Rotterdam. Photo: Aeroview
Transit architecture: art in the making TEXT: EVA MENGER | PHOTOS: SYB VAN BREDA & CO
In March 2009 – in the heat of the global financial crisis – Dutch architect Syb van Breda found himself at the start of a new adventure. Focusing on what he was good at, he started his own architectural firm, which now, years later, has become a worldwide go-to resource for transit architecture. “The company that I worked for was deeply affected by the crisis, which forced me to build something from scratch,” van Breda reveals. “Back then, I had already done a large amount of infrastructure and transit projects, so focusing on that niche felt like the right thing to do.” From environment pieces such as bridges to technical collaborations with engineers, what all projects taken on by Syb van Breda & Co have in common is that they resemble machines more so than buildings. 18 | Issue 61 | January 2019
The main difference between classic and transit architecture is that the former is static, whereas the latter is specially designed to enable movement. Hence, van Breda and his team always work closely together with building companies, right from the very start. In addition, there is the fact that no two bridges are ever the same, as van Breda explains: “Designing buildings is often a case of repeating something that has already been done before – just in a different format. However, a bridge’s mechanism depends entirely on its environment, which means that they always have to be built from scratch.” Syb van Breda & Co is a small, devoted agency with architects coming from various backgrounds, but they all love the challenge of constantly working towards something that is innovative as well as aesthetically satisfying. As bridges are
typically positioned in an open environment, aesthetics play a crucial role in their design. “This is partly why, in the Netherlands, bridges are often referred to as civil works of art,” van Breda adds. A good example of such an artwork is the Fietsbrug (cycling bridge) connecting Katwijk and Oegstgeest. As both communities are seeing more and more new residential projects, a good connection has become essential. The local authorities held a competition amongst architects and designers throughout the country, which Syb van Breda & Co managed to win. “They wanted something visible – a design that could be admired by pedestrians and cyclists from all sides of the water,” reveals van Breda. With that in mind, they came up with a rather mysterious alternative for the clas-