BOUWEN AAN EEN NIEUW ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL WE RE PROUD OF THE COLLABORATION! Project director Ron Voskuilen and project manager Eric van der Meer look back with satisfaction on the project. february 2013 #31 You can also follow us on Twitter via twitter.com/rdamcentraal Now that the grand opening of the new Rotterdam Centraal station is fast approaching, Ron Voskuilen, the Municipality of Rotterdam s general director of the Urban Planning and Housing Cluster, can nearly enjoy a good night s rest again. Almost. For the municipality still has considerable work to complete on the underground bicycle storage facility and outdoor areas of the station. Even with the remaining work, they can already look back with a sense of satisfaction. It is a unique project because so many parties have been and continue to be involved in the making of it. Which is why a productive collaboration is so essential. Eric van der Meer, project manager at ProRail, emphasises all is done in good collaboration. The municipality and ProRail make the most of each other s strengths and complement each other. At the same time ample attention has been given to environmental aspects. It is the stakeholders, namely, who are responsible for the success of the project. From day one we have included the stakeholders in the formulation of our vision, Voskuilen says. That requires time but, in the end, it provides support for all parties concerned. Including for the residents and surrounding businesses. Although conflicts can and indeed do arise from this process, we can always find a solution together due to contact being personal. The difficulties of the project reside mainly with managing the surroundings, according to Van der Meer. Technically, it represents no small challenge, but such a project is not unique in the world. It is when dealing with the surroundings that you realise the project s complexity. But that complexity was relatively painless. The envisioned end result of the project has been widely accepted. That is to say: many see the added value of a new station. In general, building in Rotterdam is a pleasure, Voskuilen adds. People are appreciative when a new project is delivered. Which is why the station has such a positive flow and serves as a window on the city. Rotterdam Centraal serves like a kind of red carpet, drawing visitors into the city. In addition to serving as a window, the station also acts as a mirror of the city. It is a sturdy building, one with modern architecture and it forms a wonderful link between the old part of the city and the contemporary city centre. And the fact that Rotterdam is the greenest city in the Netherlands is well reflected by the outdoor areas. That is why I m proud of what we have constructed so far and of the team s excellent performance. Everyone has made a contribution because this multifaceted project requires many disciplines. I won t, however, really sleep well until everything has been completed!
PHOTO REPORT ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL STATION New Rotterdam Centraal, city-centre side Y columns in place Glass façade and roof on Proveniersplein side More and more space in the station concourse Snow blanketing Rotterdam Centraal Trains entering and departing the station P2 ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL BOUWBERICHT
PHOTO REPORT ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL STATION In motion and at rest Glass, light and transparency View from above Building planning, city-centre side February > demolition of temporary blue station March > rerouting the western pathway of the station concourse via the façade. March, April, May > completion of station roof s western section March > placement and illumination of letters and clock on south wall April > start of designing outdoor areas of station / 15 April start of elevating tramway tracks. All trams stop at Weena Letters and logos being positioned April > start of cable and pipework installation for the connecting tunnel to Kruisplein car park BOUWBERICHT ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL P3
STADSE ZIJDE CONSTRUCTION AND ACCESSIBILITY FINAL ROOF SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION The roof of the new station will be finished with the completion of the western canopy (bus side). Work activities are to take place above the former temporary station and the future entrance of the renovated Proveniers tunnel. This will cause the temporary closure of the hall next to HEMA. Travellers will have access via the new façade s new city-centre side entrance. Work begins end February and will last for approx. 3 months. Further progress on car park Creating an underground network reaching both the Kruisplein car park and the Schouwburgplein car park via the Weena tunnel. An underground roundabout will be laid down for this future network. This roundabout provides access to the Kruisplein car park as well as the Schouwburgplein car park via a tunnel. Work will begin on this tunnel connection after the summer break. Weena work activities Site preparation and cables and pipelines installation begins in April. Water storage will be constructed on the roof of the car park to function as a water basin for the Westersingel. Some necessary work activities will still take place over the coming months on Weena. There will be work on the section in the direction of Hofplein, between Lijnbaan and Hofplein. The work consists of replacing the sewage system, re-routing cables and pipes, applying paving, asphalting work and the design of the square for the Hilton hotel. Construction is expected to last until the start of April. Work is also under way on Beukelsdijk. By current estimates, Beukelsdijk will be closed in March for a week and a half to complete the final work activities. Underground bicycle storage facility excavated, start of pouring concrete The excavation of the underground bicycle storage facility under the forecourt has been completed. A space has been cleared below ground that creates room for five thousand bicycles. Now that the digging is finished, workers can begin installing the concrete floor. Columns and exterior walls will be placed between the newly constructed concrete floor and ceiling. Work has also begun on the demolition of the wall between the bicycle storage facility and the metro station. Travellers will be able to in the future directly get to the metro station in the future directly from the bicycle storage facility. Work on getting the concrete in place will take 3 months. The bicycle storage facility will be fully built by November of this year. BOUWBERICHT ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL P4
SPOORSE ZIJDE CONTRUCTION AND ACCESSIBILITY FIRE HYDRANTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION With 110,000 passengers per day, Rotterdam Centraal is one of the major Dutch transport hubs. A status which calls for proper emergency care. Which is why this last autumn instalment of fire hydrants was initiated. On the north side of the station, there are three sources which collectively can deliver up to 360 cubic metres of groundwater per hour from a depth of 30 metres. The water supply can be pumped through underground pipes to the station in case of an emergency. Calculations show that this occasional extraction of groundwater has no detrimental effects on the buildings in the area. The fire hydrants are expected to be operational within two months. SPECIAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM FOR ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL Rain. The countless litres that fall out of the sky almost daily determine the condition of our streets. A good drainage system was absolutely necessary with a station roof of three hectares. Rain was collected in the old station by platform covers on the station s Proveniersplein side and then discharged into the sewage system. Water infiltrated into the soil between the platforms. process of natural rainfall disappearing into the soil. And yet not all of the water from the roof disappears into the ground. When it is not raining, the roof becomes filthy. The first heavy rainfall collected by the roof after a dry spell is, therefore, discharged into the sewage system. This is to prevent contaminates from entering the infiltration system. The water that is eventually infiltrated becomes pure and clean rainwater. The system is also equipped with an overflow in the event of rainfall that is heavy or prolonged for the system s capacity. Work on this facility starts in mid-may, once the roof of the station and its foundation are ready in their entirety. The construction will take several weeks. After construction of the system, the paving will be rebuilt and an unguarded bicycle storage facility will be built on top of it. The new station covering is much larger, and that doubles the amount of water collected. ProRail has teamed up with the contractor Mobilis, the Municipality of Rotterdam s Engineering Department and Water Management department, and the District Water Board to develop a device that infiltrates most of the rainwater into the ground. This decreases the pressure on both the sewage and surface water systems and maintains the original water level. Rainwater that streams in from the station roof is infiltrated into the ground by means of a crates field in which five hundred square metres of crates, which have been wrapped with geotextiles, are connected together. This simulates the BOUWBERICHT ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL P5
SPOORSE ZIJDE CONTRUCTION AND ACCESSIBILITY FURTHER PROGRESS ON CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES The new Rotterdam Centraal station is fully operational with approx. 110,000 travellers making their way each day through the passageway, past the stores and on to the platforms. A lot of hard work will take place over the coming months on the completion of the new station. An overview: > Now that all of the shops and offices have been moved from the temporary station to the new station, the last blue building will be demolished. This will free up space for the final work activities near Conradstraat. The façade near the first platform will be finished and there will be work carried out on placing the steel covering of the roof. When these activities have been completed, work will begin on the woodwork on the interior of the façade. This construction will be completed in May. > The Proveniers tunnel is being renovated and converted into a bicycle and pedestrian tunnel. Glass has been installed at three places in the ceiling of the tunnel. This allows daylight to stream in from the platforms into the tunnel. > Escalators will be installed under the current, temporary wooden stairs in the passageway. Once the escalators are fully operational, the temporary stairs will be removed in phases. > Work is taking place on the north side of the station to complete the station s roof and façade. The façade close to tracks 14, 15 and 16 tracks will be completed, running across the full length of the station. Speculaasjes return to Rotterdam Centraal The statuary that formerly adorned the sides of the station, known as the speculaasjes, or spiced biscuits, is returning to the station. Disassembly of the speculaasjes, which in recent years stood in the parking lot of Central Post, will begin at the end of February. They will be disassembled and placed on transport, before being reassembled and installed above the entrances of the Proveniers tunnel. By early April, you will be able to admire one of the speculaasjes again on the city-centre side of the tunnel, though it will be behind fences until the end of the summer. > Immediately following this, work will begin on the construction of the unguarded bicycle storage facility and the crate system for drainage installation. Read more about the drainage installation on page five of this Construction Report. Work will be completed before summer s arrival. > The last solar cells will be installed in mid April. The drainage installation will be connected and operational sometime in May. The second one will be similarly disassembled, reassembled and installed above the north entrance of the Proveniers tunnel. COLOFON The Rotterdam Centraal project has been made possible by the Municipality of Rotterdam, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Dutch Railways and Rotterdam City Region. CONSTRUCTION REPORT TOPICS If you have any ideas about topics that should be covered in the Construction report, please let us know at: info@ puntcentraal.nl. PUBLICATION: February 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY: Kees Stuip and Rotterdam Centraal project agency EDITORS: Rotterdam Centraal Communication Team COPYWRITER: Made in Rotterdam LAYOUT: Made in Rotterdam PRINT:Tuijtel INFORMATION You can follow the latest state of business about the project via the website www.rotterdamcentraal.nl or via twitter.com/rdamcentraal. You can also send an e-mail to info@puntcentraal.nl BOUWBERICHT ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL P6