Underground, Overground...

... Wombelling free. A nice vintage song reference there that has nothing to do with the challenge below, but was going through my head when thinking of this week's title.

Back to the matter in hand...

“No one visits railway stations to look at architecture.” — James Scott (1911)

This is definitely not true in my case. In previous years I've completed several projects photographing some of my favourite London Tube Stations. There are many architectural gems that mostly go un-noticed in the throng of the rush hour madness or weekend dash to escape the city.

Some cities have since turned their stations into art galleries - Stockholm as an example, whilst others like Munich were designed to "radiate a positive mood" (Rolf Schirmer of the city's subway planning council).

On the other hand, Overground Stations and Terminus have also long been a symbol of the operators prowess - particularly in the UK as each operator tried to outdo each of it's competitors for pomp, ceremony and grandeur. So, whilst on a trip exploring the Netherlands, I thought I’d see what Rotterdam could offer in the way of Station based architecture.

Week 15 - Stations

Location 1 - Rotterdam Centraal

During World War Two, the centre of Rotterdam was destroyed by aerial attack from the Luftwaffe and, as a result, had to be rebuilt. Where some cities rebuilt what was previously there, Rotterdam went for bold, modern architecture and design and has continued to do so to this day.

The main station is no exception. Opened in 2014 to replace a station struggling with passenger numbers and lines, it is an amazing sight to behold. The clock and lettering were retained from the previous building, but everything else is new. Arriving there certainly sets the tone for what’s to come elsewhere in the city.

I got up sharpish on a Sunday morning to capture this without too many people about.

Location 2 - Rotterdam Blaak

In the centre of the city, this overground and underground station has the look of a space ship about it (to me anyway). The mainline part of the station equally as impressive on the inside. It sits in between the yellow cube houses, the modern Markthal and the centuries old Laurenskerk (completed 1525).

Location 3 - Wilhelminaplein, Rotterdam

Opened in 1997, this station has many elements to it. From one of the entrances, a design award winning curved passageway and long moving walkway bring you to the ticket hall and viewing platform above the tracks. To my eyes, the divide between the tracks looks like a piece of Lego Technic (or like a spirit level I once owned).

In Summary:

“Urbanism works when it creates a journey as desirable as the destination.” — Paul Goldberger

This is certainly true of Rotterdam's stations and I feel I barely scratched the surface (pun intended :)

I think this feels like a new mini-project in the making!

(No wombles were harmed in the production of this week’s blog)

Next Time: Yellow