Metro station and pedestrian tunnel Wilhelminaplein, Rotterdam

In order to prevent the ground water from pushing the tunnel tube upwards during the excavations and the building of the station, walls were inserted into the soil on both sides, to support a heavy concrete roof. This weight kept the tunnel in its place during the construction of the platforms and the erection of the V-shaped support structure, used to anchor everything. When all that was done the walls of the tunnel were opened. That is how the hall of the station as we know it today came to be.

The required weight of the roof and its enormous strength enabled the architects to design a hall with a wide span, creating an open space where few columns hinder the view. All this was made possible by an inventive and unorthodox method of construction: all the work was done in reverse order. This enabled the architects to master the technical obstacles and realize an open and spacious design.

Whenever we let ourselves to be transported amongst a multitude of people in an underground train, we would like the physical and sensory experience of the stations to be as pleasant, safe and comfortable as possible. Light, overview, an immediate understanding of the functional lay out, a sense of distance and depth and the continuous possibility of eye contact with others are the main ingredients of that. The way Metro station Wilhelminaplein is designed by ZJA does not result in a feeling of entering a deep and sinister cave. The hall at the entrance is high and has a monumental effect. The opening in the centre of the roof and the transparent glass entrances allow daylight to stream in. Overview and eye contact are secured by the large openings in the wall between the platforms, the slender, reflecting columns and the diffuse mix of daylight and artificial light.

Being so close to the riverbank, where the train ascend from a maximum depth to the surface, the station inevitably has sloping platforms. A slight tilt in the design prevents baby strollers and wheelchairs to move towards the tracks on their own. To put the traveller at ease, the black-grey-white pixel pattern in the tiles on the walls signal this unique characteristic of the station in a casual, subliminal way, much like a visual form of ambient music.

This choice for casualness is a characteristic design feature. It can be found in other aspects as well, such as the flowing forms of the railing, the circular cut outs with acoustic material, the reflecting surfaces around the escalators and the general lay out of the space. They all install the right qualities without ever drawing attention to themselves. They remain inconspicuous and appear as purely functional. Another fine example of this way of thinking is that during the approach of a train the intensity of the lighting goes up slightly, to gently alert the travellers. Because of all this, Station Wilhelminaplein can still, twenty-five years after its opening, be experienced as a bright and contemporary subway station.