Bijlmer Station

Photo: Mark Humphreys

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Architect: Grimshaw

Photo: Mark Humphreys

Raised above a 70 metre-wide boulevard on a two-storey concrete viaduct, Bijlmer Station was designed in collaboration with Dutch practice Arcadis Articon Architecten. Around 60,000 used the station every day; with eight tracks (two handling 200 km/h high-speed trains), this station is a huge part of the city. It is also a major interchange for passengers connecting from trains to the Metro.

Photo: Ger Van Der Vlugt

One of the main architectural challenges for the team was to design a station that could be constructed without impinging on the day-to-day operation of the existing facilities. Grimshaw worked with Arcadis Articon Architects on the design of the station on a 70 metre-wide diagonal Boulevard, linking east with west. It certainly was a success, with Bijlmer Station being shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2008.