Rotterdam Central Station
Benthem Crouwel Architects, MVSA Architects, West 8
Rotterdam Central Station connects people and places. A key transport hub for the rail network, it connects cities in the Netherlands and beyond its borders to Europe. It also stitches together the fabric of the city itself, connecting the late nineteenth-century Proveniers district in the North to the modern city centre to the south.
All of this takes place under a large roof creating a light filled space that both welcomes and invites. Above the platforms to the North, passengers arrive under a glass roof ornate by solar panels. To the north of the building a modest glass elevation faces the old residential district allowing views from the station. To the south the arrival hall becomes a timber clad cavern that opens to a square. Outside the character changes to reflect the modern surroundings with a striking titanium-clad roof which points towards the heart of the city.
Shot on the tenth anniversary of Rotterdam central station, this series is a tribute to the much loved station looking at the amazing qualities of light that transform the building throughout the day.
As passengers rush through the station on their way to their next destination it is easy to miss the unfolding spectacle taking place around them. This series is an attempt to slow down this transition and draw attention to the environment which thousands of passengers pass through each day. Whether it is the glass or titanium steel cladding taken on the hue of the changing sky or the play of light and shadow as the light filters in between the structure of the roof, when we take a moment to stop and look around before hopping on a train to the next destination, we can each notice something special.
As the focus of this shoot was capturing the variety of light, timing of each shot was particularly important.
I arrived at sunrise and waited for the mirror-like surfaces of metal and glass to start reflecting the colours of the morning sky, starting at the glass north east facing elevation before moving to the east entrance where the iconic titanium cladding adorns its distinctive triangular roof.
Using my 70-200mm lens, I captured a close-up shot that showcased not only the absorbed colours but also the rippled texture and intricate stitching of the surface. The compressed view of the intersecting roof planes, highlighted by contrasting light and shadow, turned the building into an image that was simultaneously strange and familiar.
Moving inside, the cavernous entry hall is filled mainly with indirect light during the day as a result of the projecting eaves of the roof that prevent direct light from reaching the interior. Early in the morning, however, the low angle of the sun from the east allows the sunlight to pass underneath the overhanging roof and into the hall. creating a scene reserved only for the early commuters.
As mid-day approaches, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky and the angle of the sun becomes steeper. On the platform under the vast glass roof, shafts of light begin to penetrate it’s surface and are directed in between the structure, falling directly onto the platform floor. These spectacular shafts of light are broken up by the mosaic printed pattern on the solar glass that spans the expansive roof and the secondary structure between the beams, creating a constantly shifting pattern across the platform floor.
Chasing the light, I worked until twilight capturing these fleeting moments.
