On 13 March 2015 the main railway station of Rotterdam was ceremonially inaugurated after a reconstruction phase of eight years. The new hub for public local and long-distance traffic has now also been connected to the international high speed network.
In the style of other European cities like London or Paris, the new railway station building does not only accommodate information stands, ticket counters and numerous shopping facilities, but also the platforms. Despite this, travellers can view the city centre of Rotterdam from the platform, thanks to the glass construction. High transparency also continues inside of the building in order to create an intuitive direction system.
The Dutch architectural bureaus Benthem Crowel Architects, Meyer en van Schooten Architecten and West 8 joined up to form the Team Central Station (Team CS) for this large project. It was their core concept for the restructuring of the main railway station to combine the charm of the old railway station with modernity and innovation. Team CS succeeded to accomplish this by taking over characteristic objects like for instance the old railway clock or the design of the old interior facade.
Besides original granite elements, which were integrated in the new building, architectural precast concrete elements by Hering were used as facade cladding. In the style of the old facade, the new elements have a relief structure with three levels. The grey surface was refined by means of acid treatment or fine washing, depending on the level.
The project was repeatedly distinguished in the Netherlands even before completion and was awarded the Rotterdam Architecture Award 2014 and the National Building Prize 2015, among others. Team CS was chosen as Architect of the Year 2014.
