Amstelstation

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction

Built in 1938-1939 on a spacious and elongated plot on the west side of Julianaplein, a RAILWAY STATION to a design by architect H.G.J. Schelling in functionalist style. The plans were developed in collaboration with architect-urban planner C. van Eesteren and architect J. Leupen of the Public Works Service. Besides its design, it is especially the functional vision regarding prevailing traffic flows that gives Amstelstation a special place in Dutch station construction. The application of the then-new principle of 'optimal accessibility for various forms of transport' made, by means of differences in height levels and forecourts and underpasses, the station into a whole with grade-separated intersections. The high hall forms the connecting element between rail and city traffic. The wall paintings on the short sides of the great hall are by Peter Alma and have the 'dynamics of the railways' as their theme. The sculptures by Theo van Reijn, a bronze relief on the east facade and a statue of a half-seated woman in grey Swedish limestone, express activity and passivity respectively.

NB. The old signal box in the middle of the second platform, the waiting rooms, the toilets and characteristic interior components such as the ticket offices are no longer present.

The two forecourts served arriving and departing traffic. The station was executed on three levels: the polder level (trams, 5 m - NAP), the street level (station hall) and the railway embankment (platforms/tracks, 7 m + NAP). The shared forecourt rises towards the building to 2.30 m + NAP), whereby the height difference between forecourt and platform is scarcely noticeably reduced. The financing of both Amstelstation and Muiderpoortstation was made possible by the De Miranda plan for combating the economic and social crisis.

Description

Amstelstation consists of a high undivided hall on a rectangular ground plan, with a gabled roof with hipped ends under shallow pitch with overhang. Internally the portal trusses are left exposed. The short east and west facades have a vertical articulation with eight continuous pilasters. On the east facade the bronze bas-relief and seven six-pane windows. On the west facade is the passenger passage to the tracks. The long facades are largely composed of articulated glass walls. The station building stands on reinforced concrete piles. The steel frame is, with the exception of the portal trusses, embedded in the walls. Between the stiles and rails of the frame the walls are further built up from brickwork, at the corners of the high hall alternated with narrow bands of light natural stone. The plinth is of red Swedish granite. The east facade above the plinth is clad with French limestone, 'boisfleuri'. The stone is finished in various ways: pointed, bush-hammered and sanded. All original doors and windows were of steel. At both glass facades is a large red copper facade clock with neon lighting (originally yellow). In the hall are the half-seated statue on a masonry base and a floor with tiles of Norwegian quartzite.

At right angles to the high hall, on the west side, is the lower transverse hall. In this were originally located, among others, the spaces related to the reception, transport and deposit of luggage and also contains the passenger tunnel which along the axis of the high ticket hall leads the passenger to the platforms. The transverse hall under a flat roof with overhang stands on an elongated ground plan and has on both short sides of the wings respectively a rounded and half-round facade. On the north side there is a continuous canopy on simple round posts. The floor level of the transverse hall is approximately at track height. On the north side round and large ten-pane windows; on the south side smaller and simpler windows and lights. On either side of the high hall are side aisles and portals of one storey. In these both round and continuous rows of windows and entrance arrangements under deep canopies. The island platforms of the station are located at the rear, transverse to the main axis. Four staircases, two of which are still in original condition, lead to the platforms, which are also accessible via ramps. The original staircases with sandstone steps and plinths have a grey glazed brickwork wall in rat-trap bond. The balustrades with sandstone capping plates have round copper handrails. The platforms are located on either side of the four tracks (two central and two on the outer sides) and have as running surfaces floor tiles and stelcon plates. The waiting room, on a plinth clad with travertine plates, has walls of glass with steel frames. The symmetrical ground plan has straight side walls, with per wall two square perimeter enclosures for the columns of the roof and curved end walls. The waiting room has an independent flat roof with heavy copper cornice. The glass doors, two per end wall, have chromium-plated rods with conical knobs as door handle. The roof is a simple flat roof with three skylights, which rests on portals of steel H-sections and beams. The non-load-bearing walls are of glass with steel frames. The end walls of the platforms also have glass screens. The west side of the platforms rests on a concrete base on the embankment, the east side on a wall built in yellow brickwork rat-trap bond with eight (south) respectively nine (north) round windows with characteristic steel glazing bars, one horizontal and two vertical.

Assessment

Station building of 1939 of general significance by virtue of its architectural-historical, urban planning and typological value. The clarity and separation of traffic flows by type (tram passengers, cyclists, pedestrians and motorists) and direction (arriving and departing) strongly influenced post-war Dutch station construction. As one of the few station buildings in the Netherlands it stands transverse to the direction of the railway line.

The station building is of great significance for the oeuvre of H.G.J. Schelling, who also designed Muiderpoort station.