The Rotterdam skyline has seen its fair share of eye-catching additions in recent memory, but none cut as sharp a figure as the recently redesigned Centraal Station, a transportation hub whose southern façade announces itself quite, well, pointedly. A collaboration by Benthem Crouwel, MVSA, and West 8, the project's grand and overbearing roof would seem to obliterate any memory of the station's previous incarnation if it weren't for the fact that the original signage and clock were incorporated underneath the overhang. Fittingly enough, the southern entrance points toward the Rotterdam city center, while the more restrained northern end faces the late-19th-century structures of the surrounding residential area.
The wood paneling on the underside of this huge arch gives the concourse a surprisingly warm, inviting feel, which is a good thing for the 110,000 or so daily passengers the station connects to trams, buses, and metro lines. If the redevelopment continues to work its magic, that number is expected to climb to more than 300,000 by 2025. The only obvious remnants of the granite structure of the original station, built in 1957, can be found in two huge, jagged sculptures that now site above the entrance to a vehicle storage facility inside.
· rotterdam centraal station redeveloped by team CS [Design Boom]