Rotterdam Blaak, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Related people

Sybold van Ravesteyn (architect)
Harry Reijnders (architect)

Date

1877 (original);1953 (reopened after destruction in World War II);1982 (first underground addition);1993 (complete underground system opened)

Location

Europe->Netherlands->South Holland->Rotterdam

Description

"Rotterdam Blaak is an interchange station between metro and rail lines which corss at right angles. The metro is one level below ground. The four railway lines, served by two island platforms, are below. both are reached by way of a huge cylindrical hall descending into the ground and crossed by staircases and escalators.... ....the station roof is a transparent disc, 35 metres in diameter, suspended from a steel arch with a 62.5 metre span, acting as a beacon above ground. Arch and disk work as a unit: they keep each other upright. Passengers are sacred to us, so we have given them a halo." --Binney, M. (1995). Architecture of Rail: The Way Ahead. Academy, Britain.

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