ARNHEM – First featured in Mark 60, the station in Arnhem was designed by UNStudio. As the Amsterdam-based firm – led by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos – gears up for the global release of their book Knowledge Matters, Arnhem Station floats again to the fore as the frontline subject of an app which goes hand-in-hand with the publication.



In Mark 60, Wies Sanders delved into the Arnhem Station's architectural qualities amid a discussion about the slew of station regenerations barrelling across the Dutch railway network: 'The ingenious construction of the fanning, spiralling column (the 'helix', in the terms of architect Ben van Berkel) creates a large, open station hall in which all pedestrian traffic is led to and from the different transport types via smooth slopes.



The station hall is the spectacular result of these solidified conductors. It's a design principle that's both weak and strong. Strong because from this location, pedestrians can still logically oversee all the transit traffic and because the space feels like a festive and scintillating welcome.

Weak, because there are always going to be changes in pedestrian flows over the years. And will these solidified conductors be flexible enough to adjust when that happens? The route to the car park, for instance, is very prominent now, but it's likely that the relationship between train and car will weaken. 



And the city bus station, which passengers hardly use, is situated in the most beautiful location in front of the station, thus pushing the two main pedestrian routes to the city centre aside. Nevertheless, the station completed here is a great place to spend time in for now and photographers will absolutely love it.'



Published by Frame, UNStudio's new book Knowledge Matters is authored by the firm's co-founders Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos. The publication explores eleven 'Knowledge Tools' which zoom in on specific design solutions, ranging from the computational to the organisational. Pre-order your copy of the book with a 20% discount until 31 August, exclusively in the Frame store. Knowledge Matters officially releases worldwide on 1 September 2016.

Photos Hufton + Crow

unstudio.com

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