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About Strukton
| Architects: | NL Architects |
| Builder: | Strukton |
| Containers: | 6x20ft and 1x40ft |
| Year: | 2013 |
| Location: | Utrecht, Netherlands |
Frames of the three 20 ft shipping containers with glass walls form the main area in the Barneveld Noord Shipping Container Railway Station, which includes waiting area and cafe. Another three 20 ft containers form the second layer, one of these containers creates double-high ceiling in the waiting area, second contains technical installations, other contains storage. The seventh container is 40 ft and flipped to an upright position. It makes a tower, which contains a clock and a wind vane. The tower holds a lavatory, topped by a glass roof and is 12 m high.
Description by architects
ProRail, responsible for the railway network in the Netherlands, together with the so called spoorbouwmeester Koen van Velsen (‘the national supervisor for railway architecture’) started a campaign to make waiting more comfortable: Prettig Wachten.
Travelers experience waiting on a station as much longer then waiting within a vehicle. Surveys have indicated that waiting time is experienced as 3 times longer than it actually is. In this respect especially small and medium sized stations proof a big challenge. These smaller stations are usually unmanned, desolate, often creating a sense un-safety. What can we do to improve them?
The waiting areas of in total twenty stations throughout the country will be upgraded, both functionally and cosmetically: introduction of washrooms, wifi, floor heating, railway TV. Or Art!
One of the keys to the success of Prettig Wachten is to introduce human presence on these stations, to create some sort of informal supervision. An effort is made to create small multifunctional shops. In Wolvega for instance a flower shop will be opened, the florist will also be serving coffee and will even be cleaning the restrooms.
In Barneveld Noord a bike-repair shop will be included run by people that are ‘differently able’. They will contribute to the maintenance and hopefully prevent the broken window syndrome. In Barneveld Noord a new station will be build. Well station, perhaps more a bus-stop. But then again, quite an intriguing bus-stop… It is supposed to be a temporary structure. Hence the station will be build out of shipping containers. The containers contain space, but also form space.
They will be combined into an explicit arrangement. Together they form an ambiguous but strong sign. Minimum effort, maximum output. Three containers are ‘suspended’ in the air. Together they form a ‘roof’. One contains the installations, the other storage. The third will be opened at the bottom. It forms the headroom for the enclosed but fully transparent waiting area, creating a double high space.
The fourth container is flipped to an upright position. It makes an instant tower. The tower contains a clock. And a wind vane. Since Barneveld is the egg capital of the Netherlands -the station is located on the so-called Chicken Line- not the typical rooster will be mounted, but a gilded chicken. The tower holds a lavatory, 11.998mm high, topped by a glass roof. Royal Flush.
Floorplans and Sections
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About NL Architects
| Address | Van Hallstraat 294, 1051 HM Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Phone | +310206207323 | |
| Fax | +310206386192 | |
| office@nlarchitects.nl | ||
| http://www.fb.com/nlarchitects/ | ||
| Website | http://www.nlarchitects.nl |
About Strukton
We contribute to a safe and accessible world, now and in the future. That has been our commitment for 100 years. With a focus on sustainable infrastructure.
We design, construct and maintain sustainable infrastructure with advanced technology, domain knowledge and specialised expertise. We focus on maintenance, technology-driven projects and projects in which our specialised knowledge makes the difference. Combining technological fields in both rail and civil engineering is our strength.
We have some 4,300 employees and an annual revenue of EUR 1.3 billion.
We wish to contribute to the safety, quality and sustainability of infrastructure. Rail, roads and energy. We develop and integrate technologies and solutions to do so. We challenge customers to opt for contracts with room for sustainability and innovation. We are committed to operate with care and integrity and in a sustainable way and wish to encourage our sector to do the same. We combine this approach with a focus on functionality, quality, life span and a good price-quality ratio.
We operate from two operating companies and several specialised portfolio companies. Our strength lies in the integration of our specialist areas with specialist areas of our stakeholders.
Our operating companies are:
Strukton Rail
Maintenance, renewal and new construction of rail infrastructure (lightrail and heavy rail), and integration with other public transport systems.
Civil infrastructure
Design, realisation, management and maintenance of civil infrastructure. Roads, tunnels, bridges, locks and other structures.
| Address | Westkanaaldijk 2, 3542 DA Utrecht, Netherlands | |
| Phone | +31302486911 | |
| info@struktonciviel.com | ||
| Website | https://strukton.com/ |
Barneveld Noord Shipping Container Railway Station, Netherlands