The first images have emerged of UNStudio's new station for Arnhem, the Netherlands, which finally opens to the public tomorrow after 20 years of development (+ movie).
Amsterdam-based UNStudio has spent almost two decades working on the transformation of the city's transport interchange and the surrounding area, in collaboration with engineering firm Arup.
At the centre of the masterplan is the new transfer hall, which includes all of the waiting areas and facilities for trains, trams and buses, as well as a variety of shops and restaurants, offices and a conference centre.
There are also two underground levels for bicycle storage and car parking.
UNStudio's design includes a series of curving steel-framed forms, both inside and outside of the building.
The ground level curves up to negotiate the various level changes of the site, creating a complex network of split floors and ramps.
The large areas of glazing that provide the building's facade extend up over the roof to form skylights. Other details include undulating timber ceilings and lighting designed to aid orientation.
The new Station Arnhem officially opens to the public tomorrow. UNStudio first won the competition to redesign the building in 1996, and construction has been in progress since 2006.
Over that time the firm – which is led by architect Ben van Berkel – has completed a vast array of projects including an airport in Georgia, a Singapore university campus and a scientific research centre in Stuttgart. The team is currently working on plans for Qatar's first public railway network.
Dutch landscape firm Bureau B+B designed the public spaces surrounding the station, which include stone paving slabs laid in various directions to respond to the natural topography, interspersed with stainless-steel details.
Photography is by Ronald Tilleman.