The new station of Delft will open 28th February 2015. It’s a station like no other in the Netherlands, featuring many details that connect the building to the unique character of Delft, blending the city’s history with its focus on innovation.
The station hall and municipal offices form a new landmark in Delft. The complex is located above a new underground train station, with the municipal offices accommodating one thousand employees. When the station is operational, the old railway viaduct that divided the inner city of Delft will make way for an extension of the city centre, a park and canal.
Designed without an apparent front or rear, the glass building is compact and flexible. Incisions in the glass volume echo the networked structure of laneways in the historic city and admit daylight deep into the building. Lowering the roof line at the corners reduces the building height to enable a gradual transition to the surrounding buildings.
The use of clear glass at ground level facilitates a close connection between inside and outside. Here, the public zone with the station hall and public lobby is differentiated from the private section with the municipal offices made from transparent and molten glass elements.
A ceiling of curved white horizontal strips adorned with a historic city map in (Delft) blue arches above the public lobby and station hall (in collaboration with Geerdes Ontwerpen). The halls are separated by a glass wall and two volumes that house the public counters, consultation rooms and technical services of the municipal offices, and the commercial functions of the station hall.
The facilities are organised so that travellers can immediately glimpse the historic city from the station hall. Measures including a geothermal heat pump and an optimal facade design featuring highly insulated glazing enable a 35% reduction in energy use from prescribed requirements.
The building accommodates solar panels on the roof that can generate a minimum of 20% of the building’s energy needs. Source by Mecanoo.
In a new short film, Francine Houben takes the opportunity to show more of the project and explain the ideas behind the design. “When you arrive at the station, you really experience arriving in Delft,” she says. For instance, the columns and walls are cladded in a reinterpretation of Delft blue, a hand crafted pattern of broken tiles in four shades ranging from dark blue to white.
One of the most eye-catching features is the large vaulted ceiling which shows a map of Delft as it was in 1877. Created together with Geerdes Ontwerpen, the map has been printed on 1929 straight and bended lamellae. Therefore, the visitors’ perception of the image changes continuously as they move through the building, creating a stunning welcoming experience.
The opening of the train station will be a major milestone in the extensive renewal of a central area of Delft, putting the existing railway tracks underground to make room for a the Municipal Offices and Train Station by Mecanoo, and other new commercial and residential developments.
Location: Stationsplein, Delft, the Netherlands
Architects: Mecanoo
Area: 28,320 m2
Year: Ongoing 2012 – 2015
Client: Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Spoorzone; ProRail; Gemeente Delft
Photographs: Courtesy by Mecanoo
