Two newly built infrastructural underpasses are an added highlight to the medieval city of Zutphen in the east of the Netherlands. The underpasses have recently been opened for traffic, on November 14th, and are designed and engineered by Royal HaskoningDHV (part of Railinfra Solutions).
The monumental train station of Zutphen is located between the historic center and the residential and business areas Noorderhaven, which are currently under development. Until now, however, there has not been a proper connection between the two areas.
Railinfra Solutions has supervised the process of preliminary design up to construction of both underpasses “De Mars” and “Kostverloren” in Zutphen since 2008. This includes the preparation of the client design, the architectural design, contract formation, construction supervision and review of the implementation of the UAV-GC contract.
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Since the opening, the underpasses have replaced the old railway crossing, which has subsequently been closed to traffic.
The Mars underpass facilitates all traffic, i.e. pedestrian, cycle and car traffic. The Kostverloren underpass facilitates only pedestrian and cycle traffic. The underpasses are closely interwoven in the urban fabric of Zutphen, following the Urban plan of KCAP Architects and Planners and the public space design by Louis Baljon Landscape Architects.
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The architectural design of the Mars underpass comes from the pen of Mari Baauw, Railinfra Solutions. The architectural design of Kostverloren is by Marc Maurer of Maurer United Architects.
The Mars underpass is characterized by its flowing, organic brick walls in a green urban setting. Both underpasses have their own high-quality interior finish made up of an internal rib structure, which is accentuated by a light and color design by light artist Herman Kuijer. The light art additionally provides functional lighting in the underpasses.
The result is a design where urban planning, architecture and (light) art are seamlessly integrated.
The Mars underpass is characterized by its flowing, organic brick walls in a green urban setting. Both underpasses have their own high-quality interior finish made up of an internal rib structure, which is accentuated by a light and color design by light artist Herman Kuijer. The light art additionally provides functional lighting in the underpasses.
The result is a design where urban planning, architecture and (light) art are seamlessly integrated.
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