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01-002
PROJECT FOR
A RAILWAY STATION
/ DOUALA (CAMEROON)
/ 1973–1974 *
This is one of the first projects designed by Philippe
Samyn upon his return from
mit
. We can see the
influence of engineers Eduardo Torroja and Pier Luigi
Nervi, as well as an interest in the technique of thin
reinforced-concrete shells, the calculation of which
Samyn had mastered, and which was a speciality of
André Paduart, then professor at the Université Libre de
Bruxelles. Over a base that contains the bus station and
a public parking area, a large field of umbrellas provides
shelter for a market, cafes, ticket booths and all of the
associated functions for users of the railway station,
whose platforms and passageways are located just
beyond. Each umbrella is fitted with a cylindrical shaft,
a truncated conical capital and a shell consisting of a
paraboloid of revolution segments.