results
No results
Please enter a long search term
Tram Square
NEXT architects designed an urban plan for the new Tram Square with a common language in material and detail, focusing on the residential quality and the historical context.
The tram square is originally one of the main entrances of Purmerend. Because of the instalment of the Melkwegbridge across the Noord-Hollands Canal, the spatial significance of the square changes. The bus station remains, while the square is now orientated towards the water due to the modified traffic routes.
To prevent the public space from becoming a chaos of lose objects (bus stops, benches, litter boxes, information signs, advertisements, bike parking etc.), all of these functions are divided in 4 main elements. This urban furniture was conceived as an unambiguous architectural design giving the square a residential quality.
The roof of the existing bus station was preserved, and the wooden top construction was transferred to the central island of the new bus station. The substructure with the ticket window, the waiting area and drivers residence, was modernised with the use of the characteristic tiles and glass.
The covered bike parking is a stretched out object enhancing the relationship with water. The design provides an integral answer to the junction of the bike parking and the gas station on Tramplein. By lowering the bike parking, a second ground level emerges, and through lazy stairs starting from the coffee corner of the gas station it was created a special place with a view over the water and the square.