PUBLIC | TRANSPORTATION

PUBLIC | TRANSPORTATION: A research into the double role of the station. How can stations become an integral part of the city?

Koelmans, Robin (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)

Tjokrokoesoemo, K.J.L. (mentor)
van Lochem, Marianne (mentor)
Caso, O. (mentor)
van der Meel, H.L. (mentor)
Overschie, M.G.F. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Explorelab

The Whale

2022-11-11

Public transportation is on the rise due to increasing ecological concerns, a more efficient use of space and an improved city-planning featuring transport oriented development (TOD). As a result, new modalities emerge and stations are getting busier which can lead to a narrow design focus on the nodal function of the station, neglecting other aspects of the station. "
Due to the fact that many stations are located at central locations within cities, they have a strong influence on the quality of city life around them. Traditionally, the station has been seen solely as a node (connecting all the different modalities efficiently; moving people). Nowadays paradoxically, the station is seen increasingly as a place in its own right as well (by being an active part of the city; inviting people to stay). By diminishing the station’s barrier-effect and by implementing public functions within the station’s realm, the station can be integrated better within its surrounding city, creating an urban station that enhances city life.
The evolving role of the station has been the subject of many recent studies. However, the research mostly remains to be theoretical. More practical design principles and requirements may help in achieving the ambitions regarding creating an integrated urban station. Literary research was performed into the multiple facets of station design, which led to the formulation of six design principles for contemporary urban station design. The main research question is as follows:

“Are the six design principles: multimodality, functional mix, connectivity, spatial quality, visibility & flexibility apt contributors to the integration of an urban multimodal station within its surrounding cityscape?”

In recent years, many stations have been redesigned with special attention to this node-versus-place-paradox, focusing more on the station as a place. This research aims to analyse seven important international multimodal railway stations in The Netherlands and Belgium to see how these stations handle their complexity and aim to integrate within their surrounding city.
The aim is to test the proposed design principles via the analyses of these seven chosen stations: Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Centraal, Antwerpen Centraal, Utrecht Centraal, Arnhem Centraal and Amsterdam Zuid. The analyses are drawn on Nolli maps, in order to gain insight into the public realm surrounding the station and the connections between the two.
As the results point out, the chosen design principles appear to be fitting for creating a well-integrated urban station. However, six design spaces have been formulated in addition to the design principles, each accompanying respectively one principle. The spaces act as an addition to the programme of requirement as provided by the commissioner, embodying the different design principles into explicitly formulated spaces. Further research is advisable. Especially multimodal station from France, Germany or England can give crucial new insights as the stations are generally larger and their urban surroundings are often more densely populated.

Further research into the airport city concept can also prove worthy, as the development in airports is a few years ahead on the developments around urban stations, airports can provide valuable examples and case studies.

Station design
Living station
Urban station
Station integration
Public space
Modalities
Multimodal hub
Public transportation
Spatial configuration

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First, let me introduce myself: my name is Robin. I am a 26-year-old freshly graduated architectural student from the Master of Architecture at the TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. I have a great love for public transportation and train stations and chose to graduate on designing one. My graduation consists of two parts: an academic research into the integration of the station within the city and the design for the New Amsterdam Zuid Hyperloop Terminal, or The Whale. For the first part, I performed a literary research into the position of the station within the city, how the role of the station is changing. The literary research led me to define six design principles, that I analysed using several casestudies into international multimodal hubs in The Netherlands and Belgium. These casestudies confirmed my initially proposed design principles and supplemented them with six design spaces, providing an attainable way of implementing the design principles. The research into the integration of the station within the city helped me with designing the new station for Amsterdam Zuid, which is in dire need of integration as the current station creates a barrier within the area. On the other hand, the design project has been informed by the hypothetical emergence of hyperloop. If a hyperloop terminal where to be placed in The Netherlands, Amsterdam Zuid would be a very logic place as it is a fast growing area with increasing importance and great connectivity to other parts of Amsterdam and the Randstad. Also, the area is already facing major reconstruction works, so this would be the right time to implement this future modality. As the renovation works are sheduled to be finished around 2037, chances are that hyperloop is already being developed as a transportation system. Hence, I anticipated on this by already integrating the hyperloop terminal within my new design for the Amsterdam Zuid station. The design for The New Amsterdam Zuid Hyperloop Terminal is characterized by a large vide with an impressive steel arched roof that spans over it. In order to remove the barrier effect and allow for the creation of high quality public and green spaces around the station, all infrastructure has been placed underground. The vide is the central space of the station that enables daylight to come into the underground spaces and helps in creating orientation within the complex. Most transfers happen through this central space. The large roof creates visibility for the subterranean complex, helps in creating a sense of place and acts as a water manager and renewable power plant for the area. Crucial in this new design has been the widening of the Minerva concourse in order to better connect Zuidplein and Gustav Mahlerplein on both sides of the station. Four new concourses have been designed parallel to the Minerva Concourse and help in removing the barrier effect of the station. The ground floor of the complex is filled with retail and amenities for both travellers and citizens residing, working or recreating in the Zuidas. The complex has been topped off with the Dokdakpark, an important green infrastructure that provides an East-West corridor for pedestrians and cyclists. Station are becoming more than just transfer hubs: the revitalize neighbourhoods, shape urban centers and create new public hotspots. Accordingly, the New Amsterdam Zuid Hyperloop Terminal will be the heart of the Zuidas. Let's have a look into my work! ;) Digital portfolio: http://www.robinkoelmans.nl Unspecified

Student theses

master thesis

© 2022 Robin Koelmans