Railway Station Belval Université

Belval is an industrial brown land site, a former steel mill area that is currently being regenerated. It will become the new home of the University of Luxembourg, thousands of flats and a business district. In this environment, the railway station Belval Université has several roles: Firstly, the new station is the main public transport link to this new district. It has an intermodular role to play allowing its users to change from one mode of transport to another. It works as a seamless exchange platform. Users can conveniently change from the train onto the bus network, from private modes of transportation onto the public transport system. They finally can continue their journey by foot entering the new urban landscape. Secondly, the building is both a gateway and a bridge. On the one hand, it creates the south entrance to Belval and, on the other hand, bridges over the railway lines. It connects the existing with the newly developed site, leading its users safely into and out of the new district.The building of the railway station Belval Université is a 120 m long concrete platform, held up by 16 columns and floating about 8,2 m above the railway lines. It covers the passenger platforms; protecting the users from rain, sun and wind. The construction of the platform has been a technical and logistical challenge, as the railway lines that pass below the building needed to remain operational at all times.The roof structure of the building consists of translucent air filled cushions that span between 33 elliptical formed steel frames, the load carrying structure of the roof. They have a built up of 3 layers of differently printed films. The penetration of daylight and shading is regulated through inflating and deflating the cushions. In addition to the translucent roof, the glazed end walls and a strip of glazing along the side of the building provide openness to the internal space by creating a visual link with the outside. Manifold different and interesting views appear. On the one hand, one sees the new urban development of Belval, on the other hand, the existing active steel mill and the freight railway where the mill's output leaves the site. The coloured internal light turns the station into a real eye catcher at night. Finally, Belval Université is more than a simple station. Beyond its functional role and architectural elegance, it becomes an important urban landmark by providing a strong identity to the newly created urban landscape of Belval. In the given scenario, designing a station meant creating a high-tech architectural object working as a symbol for the upcoming city of intellect, knowledge, culture and business. It is an architectural project with a strong identifying power, giving its character to a new urban quarter. At the same time, it plays an important functional role within its still dynamically developing environment, at there is a fair chance that the railway station Belval Université becomes a crucial metaphor by which the new quarter will live.