Can a train station single-handedly welcome, serve and ignite the imaginations of a city’s hundreds of thousands of visitors Mecanoo’s design for Delft tackles the challenge.
March 7th, 2016
The city of Delft welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors all year round. If it’s not tourists discovering authentic Delft Blue artefacts in blue-hued tin-glazed porcelain, then its commuting residents as well students from near and afar attending the world-renowned Delft University of Technology.
Since the tracks were first laid in the mid-1800s, train travel became an effective means of movement between cities as far away as Amsterdam and the Hague. Although well-connected to other cities in the Netherlands, Delft itself became divided by these tracks – and by an elevated viaduct in the ‘60s – enduring a barrelling train through its core nearly every five minutes. Accepted in the early 2000s, a proposal by Spanish architect Joan Busquets hoped to accommodate the region’s train growth while eliminating this eyesore.
Charged with the building’s expression, architectural practice Mecanoo was able to apply irreplaceable research acquired from its own design team’s commutes through the quaint, monumental station towards its concept for a new one. Upon receiving its first passengers in February 2015, Delft’s new station building has become a stage for a serendipitous choreography, isolating views of its historic station neighbour as well as streamlining circulation within the structure and its surrounding context.
Read the full story in Indesign Issue #64, on sale now. Subscribe here.
Photography courtesy of: Mecanoo.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
In the pursuit of an uplifting synergy between the inner world and the surrounding environment, internationally acclaimed Interior Architect and Designer Lorena Gaxiola transform the vibration of the auspicious number ‘8’ into mesmerising artistry alongside the Feltex design team, brought to you by GH Commercial.
The American Hardwood Export Council promotes the works of next-gen designers through Discovered Singapore exhibition happening from 16 to 22 May at Red Dot Design Museum Singapore.
Discover the manifestation of century-old techniques realised with modern technologies
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
As one of Perth’s most popular pilates studios, owners Phoebe Woodhead and Olivia Stell came to Design Theory to elevate the new Heartbeat High studios with an incomparable design flair.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
From housing affordability to questions of density, multi-residential design and the future of cities, here are eight varied stories from our archives.
Building on a recent research paper, Helen Bell and Dr Brett Pollard discuss how social value is defined, its potential pitfalls, and why it matters.