Stationseiland
Amsterdam
Stationseiland, the island
on which Amsterdam Central Station stands, is to be transformed into an
efficient and attractive public transport hub that will really take flight with
the arrival of the North-South metro line, the high-speed rail link and a new
bus terminus. The station square (Stationsplein) will be the preserve of
pedestrians and trams, having been purged of obstacles of all kinds and paved
with granite for permanence. Cyclists approaching along the western and eastern
flanks can access the cycle shelters directly. Motorized through traffic has
its own underpass along the waters of the IJ, across which the new easy-to-read
bus terminus looks. All this means that the Prins Hendrikkade can be traffic
calmed with a crossroads-free pedestrian route between the station and Dam Square. The
historic harbour front (Open Havenfront) has been widened to stress the island
setting and give the tour boats plenty of space. Altogether, Amsterdam will get the gateway it deserves.
P.H.C. Cuypers' old railway station is upgraded to a traffic hub with clearly demarcated zones for meeting and greeting, services, information, transfer, transport and commerce. This gives it clarity of organization so that travellers can find their way around with ease. The new IJ Hall presents a natural counterpart to Cuypers' original station concourse and makes the connection with the new neighbourhoods along the IJ and in Amsterdam Noord. Here, travellers can effortlessly transfer between bus, metro, train, boat/ferry and taxi. There is space for larger shops and the hospitality sector that can also be reached directly from outside. The view across the water makes the IJ Hall very special indeed, a city lobby where you can meet, wait or shop. Not just a transport building, the station is a destination in itself.
The IJ Hall is easily
reached from the IJboulevard and the waterside plaza and jetties by the rapidly
swelling traffic on the IJ. Two new roofed station courtyards to east and west
of the IJ Hall are for collecting travellers or leave-taking and also contain
the taxi rank. The slow route for cyclists
from the city centre connects well with the cycle path along the IJ and the
ferries to Amsterdam Noord. A new bicycle garage has been added on the north-western
side. The new bus terminus on the
IJ side feeds directly into the train and metro transport networks, with bus
and train platforms set flush and locked together. An almost entirely glazed
fourth roof covers the pedestrian precinct along
the IJ. The new roof weds well with the muscle of the 19th-century structures
of which it is a contemporary reading, underscoring the quality of the existing
station building.
With the new 365-metre-long station roof, Amsterdam Noord finally has its own countenance and is drawn by way of the IJ Hall into the city centre experience. So the revamped Stationseiland acts as a bridging piece between the old city and the urbanized water landscape of the IJ.
Client
City of Amsterdam
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
ProRail
Architect
Benthem
Crouwel Architekten
Masterplan
in cooperation with
Merkx + Girod BV Architecten
Start
design
1999
Start
construction
2004
Completion
2015
