The brief for the project was complex. Arnhem railway station is an important intersection for a number of regional lines and long-distance trains to Germany. The redesign and conversion of this transport hub in the city had to be carried out in several phases, without interrupting operations.
The roofed-over area has the benefit of air conditioning and provides access to trains, buses, taxis, bicycles, parking lots and offices in equal measure. The dynamic structure of the design accommodates direct connections in every direction and without any steps. The glass roofs over the tracks are shaped in soft, flowing forms and connect to a cross element, which in turn runs out above the tracks. The cross element guides passengers to the reception building which, with its sweeping shapes, reflects the movement of the about 55,000 daily travellers.
Frank Hanswijk, Rotterdam/NL / Jansen AG, Oberriet
In cooperation with Arup, the well-known engineers, the designers have succeeded in constructing the reception building with just one single support column for the roof – in spite of its huge span of up to 35 metres. The column – which features a hollow core – is reminiscent of a tree that branches out upwards and supports the glass roof with its boughs.
Jansen have also been involved in this other infrastructure-related project:
A glass roof for the motorway in Warsaw
A gently rising ramp leads around this column from the ground floor to the top. V-shaped concrete supporting walls, another structural element of the design, run through the building from the lowest level to the top floor. Some of them are used as circulation cores; they also ensure that daylight penetrates the building and they open up views to the lower levels.
Frank Hanswijk, Rotterdam/NL / Jansen AG, Oberriet
Project-specific facade solutions
The outstanding features of the new station building are its light, wide open spaces and vistas across levels. Fair-faced concrete and glass are the two most used building materials. With its large-format sweeping glass facades, the reception building stands as an inviting new gate to the city. With a height of up 6m and lengths of up to 25m, these facades could only be constructed self-supporting using a steel structure.
The know-how and competence of the engineering department of ODS, Jansen's distribution partner, were in demand at a very early stage in the design. The company suggested Jansen VISS Basic as an innovative technical facade solution and contributed the knowledge and skills that are necessary for the cooperation in this heavily networked development process of a sophisticated architectural solution.
Frank Hanswijk, Rotterdam/NL / Jansen AG, Oberriet
Steel-system for the facade
UN Studio wanted a slender and elegant construction that can hardly be seen. The sweeping facades were built using the Jansen VISS Basic steel profile system. The add-on system, which is independent of a structural support member, allows the architect great design freedom; the design process is nevertheless very reliable because Jansen VISS Basic is based on the tried-and-tested VISS system. With Jansen VISS Basic it is possible to use thermally separated facades in combination with any type of substructure.
The project-specific facade of the Arnhem station was built with narrow profile face widths of just 50mm. The dimensions required for the facade construction were measured on site and the profiles cut to length accordingly.
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