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01-389 and 01-415
See also 01-432
ROOFS FOR THE PLATFORMS
AT LEUVEN RAILWAY STATION
/ 1999–2001
/ 2002–2008
PROJECTS FOR A FOOTBRIDGE
OVER THE RAILWAY TRACKS
/ 2001 AND 2005 / IN PROGRESS
/ LEUVEN (FLEMISH BRABANT PROVINCE)
This spectacular project involving architectural heritage
was mentioned several times in Chapter 4. The construc-
tion of the
tgv
line between Brussels and Liège resulted
in only two interesting interventions – the present project
and Santiago Calatrava’s gradual makeover of Guillemins
railway station, which has until now been trapped in a
poorly-organised urban setting. Leuven station is part
of a vast urban planning project involving several archi-
tects. It includes a bus station designed by the architect
Manuel de Solá-Morales, a series of administrative and
commercial offices erected between the railway lines
and the public thoroughfare, and the creation of a link
with the nearby community of Kessel-Lo. Although
Philippe Samyn has sat in on projects relating to all these
objectives, with the idea of creating extensive architectur-
al coherence, his intervention has hitherto been limited to
the present work – a contemporary version of the glass
canopies of the railway stations of the past, enlarged and
reconfigured in order to create a pleasant interior climate
with good lighting. The site operations were planned so
as not to interrupt the flow of rail traffic. In the oeuvre
of Philippe Samyn, this structure represents the first
implementation of his theory of volume indicators, which
was discussed earlier
(see 01-387)
. The metal framework
was calculated and deployed in such a way as to channel
rainwater efficiently and to resist both its own weight as
well as both downward and especially upward winds,
which can occur in this type of structure. The footbridge,
which was moved several times in several successive
projects, is an essential element in the urban planning
for the southern area of Leuven, which is cut off from
the rest of the town by the railway. The project consists
of a simple triangular structure of latticed beams sus-
pended from four large masts located at the footbridge’s
northern (towards the city) and southern (towards
Kessel-Lo) entrances. A particularly lightweight variant
of the project, designed in 2004, consisted of suspend-
ing the footbridge from a large arch whose profile was
reminiscent of the station, fitted with studs and stays
to ensure transverse stability. The whole is part of an
urban planning programme for the vicinity of the station,
studied by Philippe Samyn, who described it at length in
Marc Dubois’s book, Tussen binnenstad en spoor (Ghent
2003), with reference to the
kbc
project
(01-432)
.