At first glance, with its steel scaffolding the newly opened Schiphol-Noord bus station looks like any other unremarkable building. And in terms of European architectural design, the station locally known as Knooppunt Schiphol-Noord pales in comparison to flashier terminals such as the orange, whale jaw-shaped bus station at Hoofddrop's Spaarne Hospital in the Netherlands, or Poole Bus Station in the UK, with its giant mural.
But Schiphol-Noord is a favourite landmark for the local public, who love to watch the station's roof continuously change colour -- to shades of orange, for the Dutch national colour, or any other hue. The station just won the "ARC Award 2015" in the innovation category for its design, a national award from the magazine De Architect. In terms of being environmentally friendly, the station is a prime example of sustainability.
"Schiphol airport wanted to add a sustainable project to its portfolio. The basic idea is to reuse materials and it turned to Rotterdam's hangars which, if they are not reused, will be demolished and thrown away," said Sander Bos, project manager at Claessens-Erdmann Architects & Designers, to reporters who were invited by the Dutch government to visit recycling projects in the Netherlands.
The press tour was to showcase "upcycling" projects that aim to upgrade "waste" as new production materials. The Netherlands, which is located below mean sea level, is promoting the environmentally-friendly economic paradigm dubbed the "circular economy" to help tackle climate change. Departing from the traditional "take-make-and-dispose" manufacturing process, the circular economy essentially focuses on upgrading waste to be reused as new materials. This underlying idea is to create a loop of material reusing and reduce the plundering of natural resources.
At Schiphol-Noord, the metal trusses used to support the transparent polycarbonate roof of the bus station are old aeroplane hangars from World War II. The Type T2 hangar was developed by the British army in order to be dismantled quickly; its second life began after the war when the municipality of Rotterdam reused them to build part of Rotterdam airport in 1958. Later on, the hangar started its third life as the bus station of Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
The hangar consists of 24 detachable steel trusses, 37m in width and 73m in length. By placing the crossbeams a little further away from each other, the bus station now has a total length of 100m. Originally, the trusses were painted in a rusty brown colour. New additions, such as wind bracing trusses and purlins, were painted grey. A new transparent polycarbonate roof was mounted to the frame in order to give light and comfort during daytime.
Knooppunt Schiphol-Noord station cost €31 million (1.2 billion baht). There are 138 light armatures installed, each with two types of LED light, white downlights for functional lighting on the platform, and colourful LED lights that illuminate the station in all colours of the rainbow. Hardwood in the platform furniture came from sustainable FSC-certified untreated Iroko hardwood. To top it off, the station is entirely powered by 22 rooftop solar panels.
"This is a showcase about how far we can achieve sustainability," said Bos. "Sustainability is a prerequisite, and no longer optional. As an architect, sustainability should be at the back of your mind, not just a switch that you can turn on and off."
In order to maintain its position as a major European airport, Schiphol is taking responsibility for accessibility and air quality. This means reducing CO2 emissions at the airport and actively contributing to cleaner transport to, from and at the airport. Since 2014, the airport has used electric buses to transport passengers to and from aircraft. Schiphol was the first airport in the world to embark on this.
Sander Bos.
LED lighting means different themes can be introduced throughout the year.
The hangar consists of 24 detachable steel trusses.
The trusses, painted in rusty brown.
The old T2 hangar.
