Railways in the urban context: An architectural discourse

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Railways in the Urban Context

an architectural discourse

Roberto Cavallo

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Railways in the Urban Context

an architectural discourse

Proefschrift

Ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft,

op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. J. T. Fokkema, voorzitter van het College voor Promoties,

in het openbaar te verdedigen op vrijdag 30 mei 2008 om 12.30 uur

door

Robertino CAVALLO

laurea di dottore in Architettura Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (Italië) geboren te Salerno (Italië)

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Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotoren: Prof. ir. L. van Duin

Prof. ir. S.U. Barbieri

Samenstelling promotiecommissie:

Rector Magnificus, voorzitter

Prof. ir. L. van Duin, Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor Prof. ir. S.U. Barbieri, Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor Prof. ir. H.C. Bekkering, Technische Universiteit Delft

Prof. ir. M. Riedijk, Technische Universiteit Delft

Prof. arch. A. Ferlenga, Facoltà di Architettura IUAV Venetië (Italië)

Prof. arq. G. Ruiz Cabrero, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura Madrid (Spanje) ir. N. de Vries, MVRDV Architecten en Spoorbouwmeester, adviseur

ISBN: 978 90 5269 361 3

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner what so ever without permission in writing from the Publisher and the copyright holder.

COVER: Railway Station - Masterpieces of Architecture, Charles Sheppard, Bracken Books Singapore 1996, p.24-25

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Preface

Part 1 – Research background

Introduction

Object of study and research structure Research method and consulted sources Existing field of research

Other PhD theses at the TU Delft

Specification of terms and theoretical framework Research hypotheses

Motivations

Part 2 – The railroads in the Dutch City

Introduction

The low lands: territory and transport until the first decades of the nineteenth century The first railways and the shaping of the Randstad

Dutch railway companies and stations

The twentieth century and the Dutch railroads

Contemporary developments: High Speed Rail and the Randstad

Part 3 – Entangled with the city: the metropolitan railways

Introduction

Railways and expanding modern cities: the work of Otto Wagner Personal fascination: the Stadtbahn of Vienna

Awaiting metropolitan railways: the Dutch project

Under construction: North-South, a new metropolitan line in Amsterdam Metropolitan railway stations in Amsterdam: dug in Architecture

Part 4 – Multi functional terminal or monument: the case of Amsterdam Central Station

Introduction

The railway and the urban setting of Amsterdam Central Station The Cuypers project

The present intervention: ‘Stationeiland’

This research is the result of the work carried out at the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology in the past four years. Theme and development of this thesis were conceived in the framework of the research programme ‘Urban Architecture’. As a member of the research team ‘Urban Architecture’, I’ve been involved during the last four years in several activities connected with the main theme of this work. Therefore, at the moment I’m writing this preface, part of the content of this research has already been published in the form of papers for international congresses, articles for professional magazines and journals and in the book series OverHolland. Moreover part of the material contained in this research is also used in lectures given to students and professionals.

Many people are involved in different ways with the making of this thesis. First of all I would like to thank my tutors, Leen van Duin and Umberto Barbieri. The realization of this project would have been impossible without their support, encouragement and trust. In addition, I’m grateful to Leen for his great confidence in my work. I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to Umberto for the way he tutored me throughout this research and for his open minded way of guiding me professionally and intellectually in the last fifteen years.

I owe special thanks to my colleague Dirk Zuiderveld for his great help in editing my texts. My thank goes also to Filip Geerts for his interest on this research. Filip wrote, together with Umberto Barbieri and me, an article about the Noord/Zuidlijn, the new underground railway line in Amsterdam. For their help and suggestions also I’m grateful to my colleagues Henk Engel and François Claessens. They

Preface

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both contributed to sharpen the structure of this research. Next to them I would like to thank all the members of the research group ‘Urban Architecture’ and particularly Willemijn Wilms Floet, Esther Gramsbergen, Otto Diesfeldt, Iskandar Pané and Olivier van der Bogt.

My gratitude goes also to all students who worked with me in the past four years and who shared the interest in this research topic. In this respect I’m particular thankful to Jeroen Homan, Martin Elslo, David Philipsen and Leander Moons who, with their work, contributed to the way I’ve approached the topic of my research. In addition I owe special thanks to Ilmar Hurkxkens for his help in lay-outing the final version of this thesis.

Finally I have no words to thank my wife Karin for her unconditioned and constant involvement in my research project. She knows as no other how difficult it has been for me managing work and family in the last years. Her patient support and understanding helped me through all the difficulties I encountered along the way.

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MARIO SIRONI, PAESAGGIO URBANO CON FABBRICA E CAVALCAVIA, 1922-1923, 75X75CM

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PART 1

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Introduction

In the preface of his book ‘The impact of railways on Victorian cities’ John Kellet singles out the railways as one of the most important factors influencing the British city on different levels:

‘ …it was the influence of the railways, more than any other single agency, which gave the Victorian city its compact shape, which influenced the topography and character of its central and inner districts, the disposition of its dilapidated and waste areas, and of its suburbs, the direction and the character of its growth; and which probably acted as the most potent new

factor upon the urban land market in the nineteenth century’1_.

Wolfgang Schivelbusch considers the assertion formulated by Kellet, result of his investigation on the British city, valid and extendable to other West and Central European countries2_{. Nobody could predict}

that, next to its role of means of transportation, the railroad would be able to influence the development and the growth of the city. Therefore it is not a coincidence that the industrial revolution, the growth of the European city and the realization of railways all belong to the process of urbanization typical of the XIXth century. This period is fundamental in the development of the modern European city, at least for the ones in western and central Europe.

Nowadays, in the XXIth century, the dynamic of urbanisation requires the implementation of efficient public transportation systems and the transformation of existing ones. Like 150 years ago, the discussion about the traffic flows creates an interesting perspective when dealing with the future of the city. Designing an infrastructure is often an

1

J.R. Kellet, The impact of railways on

Victorian cities, preface p. xv.

2

W. Schivelbusch, The railway

journey, p. 178.

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occasion to propose a project for the transformation of the city. When it comes to railroads, this debate is very much alive all around Europe, particularly if we look at the number of competitions and projects for the accommodation of high-speed railway lines.

In this framework the leitmotiv of my research is looking at the railway in relation to the city, approaching the topic from an architectural point of view. I personally think that the realization of railways, especially in the city, must be considered as an important theme of architecture. The railways as well as the streets are the ordering elements of the city, the elements ensuring the relationship between its parts and their mutual connections3_{. Therefore the construction of}

railways and their physical presence in the city have further influence on the developments of the surroundings. In addition, the realization of railways in the city involves the construction of several buildings all together forming the railway yard. Stations as well as viaducts, bridges, crossovers and even underground terminals, are all interesting buildings interrelated with the city.

History tells us that the construction of infrastructures and particularly of railroads does not belong to the primary task of architects. The engineer, who is also entitled to design railway buildings, controls technique and standardization, fundamental for railroads.

Nevertheless the involvement of architects into railway projects came relatively soon, approximately from the second half of the XIXth century. Particularly stations needed to change their identity from mere shelters for trains to modern gates to the city. Therefore from a utilitarian piece of engineering the station had to turn into a theme of architecture. The train station quickly became a representative building for the city, a point of concentration for economical activities and a central node for public transportation. In the meanwhile, with the construction of the first metropolitan railway lines4_{, railways}

started to play a role themselves as means of urban transportation. The construction of metropolitan railway lines required a different architectural approach in order to accommodate trains in the existing cityscape. Besides, from this moment on, metropolitan railway lines often form the backbone of projects for the expanding modern city.

In the XXth century the railway takes an essential position in the planning of the city. Despite the gradual but constant increase of car traffic, the railway keeps an important role as reliable means of public transportation. In the meanwhile railroads and metropolitan lines are

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A. Monestiroli in L’arte di costruire

la città, lecture hold at the DO.CO.

MO.MO conference in Barcelona (1994), published in Progetto del

territorio urbano (by C. Macchi

Cassia, Milan 1998), explains how important is the making of road and railway infrastructures in the modern city. Quoting Monestiroli: ‘La strada e la ferrovia

diventano l’elemento ordinatore della città nel territorio restituito alla natura. L’elemento che stabilisce le relazioni fra le parti e assicura le loro connessioni’. See also A.

Monestiroli in L’arte di costruire la

città in La metopa e il triglifo, 2002,

p 73. 4

For convenience and in order to make a clear distinction between the different types of railroads, from now on I will use the terms ‘metropolitan railways’ or ‘metropolitan lines’ referring to what we would usually call ‘underground’ in English, ‘metro’ in French and Dutch or ‘metropolitana’ in Italian and Spanish.

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enclosed by the ever expanding city and, whether well integrated or not, are part of the cityscape. Railway and marshalling yards occupy large and precious surfaces in the city, sometimes being an obstacle for further developments.

After the Second World War the reconstruction period offers the chance of reconsidering the planning of infrastructures in the city. Nevertheless infrastructures, and especially railways, are in this period mainly planned from the functional viewpoint of accessibility of the city. Main roads as well as railways are needed primarily to ensure an easy access from the outskirts of the city to its centre. In terms of architecture nothing really changed in comparison with the XIXth century. Although stations are transforming into multimodal transport nodes, remaining an interesting theme of architecture, the building of new railroads or the refurbishment of existing ones did not turn automatically into an important architectural assignment even if located inside the city. Another interesting issue, very common in Europe during the past two decades, is the displacement of industries or harbour areas from the centre to the outskirt of cities, offering the chance to think about the re-use of marshalling yards. First built in order to ease freight transport links to industries and ports, these railways yards lay often in obsolete areas strategically located in the cities.

All the above-mentioned issues are also of present interest for The Netherlands. In addition, in the Dutch case and more specifically the Randstad5_{, the realization of a new high-speed railway line (HSL) in}

the middle of its territory is actually only the beginning of a chain of projects that will influence the complete transportation network on the international, regional and local level. While the construction of the HSL is coming almost to an end, several questions arise regarding the future situation of the railway network in the Randstad and the impact on its cities. It must be remembered that one of the backbones of the Randstad is the almost circular railway network linking its major cities. The HSL project will bring transformations to all this. The existing ring-like railway network will be only suitable for regional or local services while the important traffic will be taken over by the HSL. Cities on the HSL will take advantage of their position and develop important trade areas in the vicinity of the HSL stations while other ones will have to implement quick transportation links with the closest HSL hub in order

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The term ‘Randstad’ is relatively recent and is used to put together the provinces of Utrecht, North and South Holland. The etymology of the word comes from the combination of rand (border) and stad (city) and summarizes the geographical characteristics of this urban conglomeration (a sequence of border cities surrounding a green heart). The story goes that Albert Plesman, (founder of the Dutch air company KLM) flying over the provinces of Holland, introduced in 1930 the term Randstad as a name for the spatial characteristics that the urban landscape had in this region. For detailed information about the Randstad and its anatomy see H. Engel, Randstad Holland in kaart, article in OverHolland 2, 2005, and S. Musterd, B. de Pater, Randstad

Holland. Internationaal, regionaal, lokaal, 1994.

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to be part of this future network. Basically all cities in the Randstad will be involved in this process, generating interesting opportunities for new architectural interventions.

Considering all these facts, I think it is the right moment to look into the development of railroads and their interaction with the Dutch city6

accepting the fact that the project of architecture7_{is an important key}

issue to understand this process. Beyond its primary role of proposing a solution for the need of construction, the project of architecture has to be here considered as an important device to comprehend the transformations of the city. Although typological, morphological or stylistic studies are treated in this work, the main objective of this research is a critical reading of the project of architecture and its role for the development of railroads in the Dutch cities.

Object of study and research structure

Railway and city have been coexisting for approximately one and half century. Analysing their mutual relationship today, it’s important to understand how railways, as physical elements in the city, are experienced in terms of space.

When in the nineteenth century the railway lines appeared they were clearly indispensable contributions to the development of the city. Miles of railways were quickly built without taking the future scene of the city into consideration.

The result is that today the railway is entangled with the city like a spider net while its role has drastically changed. What in the early days contributed to the development of the city, is nowadays, although indispensable, often considered as an obstacle, a limitation for city planning.

At this point some crucial questions arise: what then is the relationship between the construction of the city and the realization of the railway? Which role occupies the railway and its buildings in the process of development of the city? Which transformations does the city have to deal with and what does the railway and its buildings have to do with it?

The answers to the mentioned questions imply the knowledge of a series

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Gerald L. Burke gives an extensive description of the main characteristics of the Dutch towns in his book The Making of Dutch

Towns. In the Chapter X of the

book Burke describes the Dutch Towns of mediaeval origin as being orderly, functional and compact. According to Burke a term that could resume the uniqueness of Dutch cities is ‘Grachtenstad’, canal town, defined by Burke as a peculiarly Dutch conception. Another distinction that could be made is the one of using the term Dutch City referring to the towns situated in the old province of Holland, with the only exception of including also the ones of the old province of Utrecht too. Nowadays the term Dutch city is indicative of the cities included in the geographical area that we would call the Randstad, see also note 5. 7

Here I would like to refer to the meaning of the term ‘project’ as widely used by architects but, considering the framework of this research, I think it is more appropriate and precise to talk about ‘project of architecture’ instead of ‘project’ in order to make clear that my approach to the

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of facts that occurred in a relatively long time span. The relationship between the railway and the urban context is a complex matter. Too many factors are involved with it. The combination of political, economical, geographical and technical factors makes every situation specific. Therefore it is not always easy to reduce the complexity of this matter to plain issues. This is the reason why, for convenience and clarity, I decided to reserve the first chapter of this research to a compact overview of the development of railroads in The Netherlands and particularly in the Randstad. Specific about the Randstad is the fact that in the last 150 years not only its cities developed but also its countryside changed. This circular agglomeration of cities with a green heart is not planned as such but it is the result of a series of developments. I believe that geo-morphology and railroads have been the most important factors in the development of the Randstad as we know it today. Therefore, while setting out this part of the research, I will try to support this assumption explaining in which period the shaping of the Randstad took place.

Like already stressed in the introduction to this chapter, the relationship between railway and city becomes relevant for this research when considered in an urban context. Among other possible standpoints, I think there are three themes worth studying in which the project of architecture plays an important role in the interaction between the railroads and the urban fabric.

The first issue concerns metropolitan railways. The construction of metropolitan lines into the city leads to architectural problems without precedent. How to integrate this new means of transportation with the existing cityscape? What would be the right way of designing the railway buildings? For this part of my research I will move on two different tracks. First of all I will look at how the building of metropolitan railways started in the modern city. An important example in this framework is the project of Otto Wagner for the Stadtbahn of Vienna. While explaining this project I’ll try to focus on its relevance from the viewpoint of architecture. In the second place I will discuss a long time missed chapter of the Dutch urban project: the building of metropolitan railways. The debate about the metropolitan lines started very late in Holland, actually only at the end of 1950s. The project of metropolitan railways in the Dutch city is in fact still part of the post-war reconstruction and renovation works, when linking the

topic is through an architectural perspective. In addition, to specify what I mean by ‘project of architecture’, I would like to quote Jasper Cepl in his essay

Hans Kollhoff e il mestiere dell’ architetto, contained in the book Hans Kollhoff, edited by Cepl self,

when he explains the influence of O.M. Ungers on the work of Hans Kollhoff. ‘... Nella sua riflessione

sulla trasformazione morfologica, Ungers considera il progetto come anello di una catena che lo collega al passato e al futuro. Poiché la forma si sviluppa dalla trasformazione di ciò che l’ha preceduta, a questo rimane legata, pur creando qualcosa di nuovo che indica verso il futuro e avanza così nella storia’. Translated

in English: ‘...In his reflection on the morphological transformation, Ungers considers the project as a ring in a chain connecting the past with the future. Since the form develops itself out of the transformation of what precedes it, stays linked with it, even if creating something new indicating the future and so going forward in history’. In one of the following paragraphs, dedicated to the specification of terms and the theoretical background, I will get back on the concept of ‘project of architecture’.

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new outskirts of the city with its centre was considered an important social issue.

The architectural theme of the station is the second issue that I point out in this research. In her article ‘Netherlands: six station for

the future’8_{, Nathalie de Vries}9_{gives a brief overview of how the}

Dutch government is concentrating its efforts on mainly six railway stations. Investments of over a billion euros are put into the stations of Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Arnhem and Amsterdam-Zuidas (Amsterdam-South axis), the last one expected to be finished only in 2020. Her conclusion is that there is currently in Holland a general lack of architectural policy behind these huge projects. The difference in planning between ministries, councils and railroads companies, all trying to reach their own targets, makes the role of the architect very ambiguous. According to de Vries, the most important assignment for the architect is unifying the interests of all parties. Although named in this article, surprisingly the project for the complete refurbishment and extension of Amsterdam Central Station is not really considered as being part of the new key railway projects. My personal opinion is that the project in course of realization in Amsterdam is extremely interesting because it deals with another important topic in terms of architecture: the future of the existing station as a representative building for the city. While discussing this project I will attempt to give an answer to the following main question: is there still a place in the city for the monumental station or must we accept the tendency of the multi functional terminal as the indisputable solution for the future? The third theme I would like to discuss is the one concerning architectural interventions in centrally located railway areas. While explaining the work I did together with students in one of our ‘Master Thesis Studio’ at the faculty of Architecture of Delft, I will try to show how taking a theoretical position towards the relationship between railway and city can influence the outcome of the designs. The assignment was to make a joint master plan and then an individual design proposal for a specific railway area in a Dutch city. The part of the work I will discuss in this research is based on the proposals we made for a location on the Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam. This project has been an attempt to link the content of this research with the design exercises elaborated in the ‘Master Thesis Studio’.

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The article of N. de Vries

Netherlands: six stations for the future

is recently published in Rassegna

84, September 2006.

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Natalie de Vries, together with Winy Maas and Jacob van Rijs, is one of the founders of the office MVRDV, based in Rotterdam. She is currently also chief architect for the Dutch railroad company, the so-called NS.

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The last section of this research, the sixth part, is dedicated to the investigations I’ve made about the relationship between the railway and the city of Haarlem as part of the research project ‘5 x 5 projects

for the Dutch City’10_{, currently running at the faculty of Architecture of}

Delft. This section of the research is mainly a chronological analysis on the development of railways in the specific context of Haarlem. The final scope of the text is to sketch a framework that can be useful for the purpose of architectonic interventions in Haarlem’s railway zone.

Research method and consulted sources

As already mentioned in the preface, the content of this thesis is strictly related with the research programme ‘Urban Architecture’. The study on transformation and renewal of the contemporary Dutch City through architectural interventions is the main scope of the programme. Areas in and around the cities where docks, industries or marshalling yards were located, are rapidly becoming available for new developments. In addition, the dramatic and continuous changes caused by the globalization of the market economy generate as counterforce a strong emotional desire to keep links with the past, with the essential characteristics of the historical urban fabrics.

In this respect my research does not deal only with contemporary architectural interventions but is concerned also with the historical condition of the Dutch city as an important point of departure to investigate the topic. The main architectural issues proposed in this research are investigated through an analytical and descriptive method. This objective part of the research, in which I try to bring up the most relevant facts connected with the topic, is carried out through the consultation of the sources. Next to it there is also a subjective part based on my personal critical viewpoint. This second approach is used in order to discuss every theme within a specific framework given by my critical observations or questions. The objective and subjective approaches are both illustrated in the introduction to every chapter.

The comparative method of research and the research through case studies are also regularly applied in the course of this work. Especially the research through case studies has been particularly fruitful when searching for answers to specific research questions. Fencing off the topic through a clear choice of the case study has been a fundamental

10

For extensive information about the

5 x 5 projects for the Dutch City see OverHolland 5,2007.

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step particularly when treating the themes of the metropolitan railways and the station as multi functional railway terminal.

In terms of sources this research is mainly based on literature studies. For clarity and convenience the bibliography is divided in two sections. The first section named ‘General’ is comprehensive of books or articles mostly dealing with the role of infrastructure in the construction of the city. In the second section, called ‘Railway and City’, I’ve ordered all the other publications directly concerned with the railroads. As I will explain in the next paragraph, there is hardly any book describing extensively the relationship between the railways and the Dutch City considered from an architectural viewpoint.

Next to the consultation of publications are worth mentioning my visits to the ‘Utrechts Archief’, an archive with a huge collection of documents, books and images about the Dutch railways, and to the ‘Spoorwegmuseum’, the Dutch Railway Museum, also located in Utrecht, with an interesting exposition and the collection of the historical material regarding the railways in The Netherlands. Beside a deep immersion in the history of Dutch railways and a great inspiration, I have not used any direct information coming from the ‘Utrechts Archief’ or the ‘Spoorwegmuseum’. A primary source I have to name is the archive of the city of Amsterdam, currently called ‘Stadsarchief Amsterdam’11_{, where I’ve found interesting material}

about the railroads in the city. From this archive I’ve directly used several illustrations regarding the railway stations of Amsterdam and the construction of railways in the city. Finally I would like to mention my visit to the office of Benthem Crouwel architects in Amsterdam. Very inspiring for this research has been my conversation with Joost Vos, chief architect of the project involving Amsterdam Central Station and the transformation of Stationeiland. Several images used in this thesis are directly coming from the data file of this firm.

Existing field of research

Because of its current relevance, the relationship between the city and the railway generates quite a bit of interest in Europe. Several publications are dedicated to the projects for the High Speed Trains.

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The ‘Stadsarchief Amsterdam’, after a closure of several months, was recently opened to the public in the restored building ‘De Bazel’, the famous former bank located at the Vijzelstraat in Amsterdam and named after his designer, the Amsterdam School architect De Bazel.

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Almost all well known magazines dealing with architecture and design have issued a number on the infrastructure and the city, mainly focusing on stations and competitions for new High Speed Train facilities. This is, generally speaking, interesting documentation, particularly important for the sections of my research regarding the current developments around the topic.

Although the history of railways is a wide field of research, it is interesting to note that in the recent years only few books have been published on this topic. Several authors have provided overviews on the history of railway networks, about construction of stations and tracks, mainly concentrating on national subjects. In some books the expansion of the railway system and its facilities is treated. Other publications concentrate on technical details, especially concerning trains, special locomotives, wagons etc. It is surprising that most authors did not address their attention to the consequences of the presence of railways in the city and vice versa.

As far as architecture is concerned, in addition to a number of publications about stations and their styles, the book ‘The impact of

railways on Victorian cities’ by John R. Kellett, published in 1969, is

still the most complete overview. The introduction and the impact of railways on British major cities are well illustrated here. For Germany, France and other European countries there are no authors going deeply and specifically into this matter as did John R. Kellet in his book. For an interesting overview of railway buildings in relation to the engineering and, in the second place, to the architecture of railroads, it is worth to study the work of the Italian researcher Francesco Viola in his book ‘Ferrovie in città’. Next to a detailed description regarding the development of railway infrastructures, in his book Viola analyses the phenomenon of the railway in relation to the urban project of several European capital cities.

Looking into the available Dutch literature about the topic, it is clear that the interest of most writers is concentrating on national matters. Among the publications we find a couple of good overviews about the history of the Dutch railway network (the last one is the book ‘Spoorwegen in Nederland’ by Guus Veenendaal, 2004), some other about the stations and about technical aspects or monuments

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along the train tracks. On the relationship between the Dutch cities and the railway there are no extensive books, but only some articles in newspapers, magazines or books. One of the most interesting contributions in this sense is the article of Henk Schmal ‘Cities and railways in The Netherlands between 1830 and 1860’, published in the

‘The city and the railway in Europe’. Another relevant text questioning

the current architectural tendencies in matter of stations is the one of Harm Tilman titled ‘Architectuur van stations’, article published in magazine ‘de Architect’ nr.9-2004. Worth a mention is also the recently published book of Auke van der Woud ‘Een nieuwe wereld.

Het ontstaan van het moderne Nederland’. This book treates the great

transformations of Dutch society in the nineteenth century due to the realization of new communications networks. The construction of railways plays of course an important role in all this. The impact of railways on the mobility of people could be shortly resumed in a phrase written by van der Woud: ‘…Riding on railways felt like flying’12_.

For a good overview about the realization of railway stations in The Netherlands I can advise to look at following three books: J.W. van Dal ‘Architectuur langs de rails’, P. Saal & F. Spangenberg ‘Kijk op stations’ and H. Romers ‘Spoorwegarchitectuur in Nederland’.

Very interesting articles are compiled in the book ‘The city and

the railway in Europe’13_{, made on occasion of the Fifth International}

Conference on Urban History (2000, Berlin), during the session ‘The railway and the city’. Especially the introductive article by Ralf Roth and Marie Noëlle Polino helped me to focus on relevant issues, convincing me to undertake further research about the topic.

About the driving forces behind the redevelopment of railway station areas, it’s interesting to acknowledge the approach of L. Bertolini and T. Spit in the book ‘Cities on rail, the redevelopment of

railway station areas’ (1998), which is partly a product of research

made at the Utrecht Centre for Urban Research (URU).

Other PhD theses at the TU Delft

Other research projects done at the TU Delft have somehow relations with my research. First of all it is very logic to name the work of the research school TRAIL (The Netherlands Research School for Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistics)14_{. The mission statement of TRAIL is to}

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The original Dutch text goes as follow: ‘…Rijden over ijzeren wegen voelde als vliegen’, A. van der Woud, Een nieuwe wereld. Het

ontstaan van het moderne Nederland,

p. 283. 13

As already mentioned, this book contains also the article of Henk Schmal titled Cities and railways in

The Netherlands between 1830 and 1860.

14

The Netherlands Research School TRAIL is the co-operative school for PhD research and education of Delft University of Technology, Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of Groningen.

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educate high-level researchers with different backgrounds in order to build up and spread new ground breaking interdisciplinary knowledge in the field of transport, logistics and infrastructures. Although the interests of this research school tend to be oriented towards very technical matters, I found some research work partly connected to the field of my investigation in the series of PhD theses published by TRAIL. The thesis of S. C van der Spek, for instance, titled ‘Connectors,

the way beyond transferring’ (TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, 2002)

and addressing the problem of transferring passengers from one transportation system to another through the so called connectors buildings/facilities, contains interesting considerations on the way the railway buildings, and particularly stations, influence their direct surroundings. Other aspects connected with the complex relationship between railway buildings and city are treated in the thesis of P. M. J. Pol, ‘A renaissance of stations, railways and cities’ Delft (TU Delft, Faculty of Civil Engineering, 2002) and in the one of J. Willems, ‘Bundeling van

infrastructuur’ (TU Delft, Faculty of Civil Engineering, 2001).

Next to TRAIL, there are few PhD theses developed at the TU Delft worth naming because of their direct involvement with the study of railways. Just rounded up is the PhD of C. Mulders-Kusumo titled ‘The

space node interaction’ (TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, 2007), about

the primary role of railway stations and their influence in determining the development of the surrounding areas. More interesting from my point of view is the work of R. Dijksterhuis in his PhD thesis ‘Spoorwegtracering en Stedenbouw in Nederland’ Delft (TU Delft, Faculty of Civil Engineering 1984). Dijksterhuis draws up a very detailed inventory of all the different railway lines built in The Netherlands trying to make a link with the urban planning of the Dutch cities.

Another two PhD theses carried out at our Faculty touch the subject of railways in urban areas. The first developed by F.D. van der Hoeven is titled ‘RingRing, ondergronds bouwen voor meervoudig ruimtegebruik

boven en langs de Ring in Rotterdam en in Amsterdam’ (TU Delft, Faculty

of Architecture, 2001) and the second is ‘Reweaving UMA, urbanism

mobility architecture’ (TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, 2004) made

by L. M. Calabrese. Although with different approaches, both these are dealing with the relation between infrastructures and city.

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Specification of terms and theoretical framework

As I’ve already mentioned before, the architectural perspective on the railway and the city characterizes my approach to the matter. In order to specify the terms urban context (that, to simplify, I call city) and railway, essential for this research, I will make use of some Kevin Lynch and Aldo Rossi writings about both issues.

The choice of Lynch and Rossi is mainly based on the fact that their theories about the urban facts, although already forty years old, are still relevant and widely used as bases for urban studies. Next to this, the complementary character of their positions makes the combination of their work rather interesting.

In the book ‘The image of city’ Kevin Lynch investigates the perception of the city while in Aldo Rossi’s ‘The Architecture of the city’ the main focus is the construction of the city. Perception and construction of the city are both very important components to understand the relationship between railway and city. For the mentioned reasons I decided to further investigate the basic terms used in my research using the writings of this two authors.

The first question that arises is: what is the city?

‘Like a piece of architecture, the city is a construction in space, but one of vast

scale, a thing perceived only in the course of long spans of time’15_.

‘The city, which is the subject of this book, is to be understood here as architecture. By architecture I mean not only the visible image of the city and the sum of its different architectures, but architecture as construction, the

construction of the city over time’16_.

‘I will now take up the hypothesis of the city as a man-made object, as a work of architecture or engineering that grows over time; this is one of the most

substantial hypotheses from which to work’17_.

Following the definitions of both authors we can summarize that the city could be understood as built environment evolving in the course of time. During the development of my thesis I would like to refer to this definition of the term ‘city’.

The second question is: what we should precisely understand with the term ‘railway’?

15

Kevin Lynch, The image of city, p. 1, Chapter I.

16

Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the

city, p. 21.

17

city, p. 34.

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17

The answer to the second question doesn’t come, like the first one, straightforwardly out of Kevin Lynch’s or Aldo Rossi’s writings. Despite this fact it is possible, in my opinion, to understand how both authors deal with it and what kind of importance they give to the presence of the railway in the city.

In the book ‘The image of city’ Kevin Lynch talks about the elements on which is based the perception of the city.

‘The contents of the city images so far studied, which are referable to physical forms, can conveniently be classified into five types of elements: paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. …These elements may be defined as follows: 1. Paths. Paths are the channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally, or potentially moves. They may be streets, walkways, transit

lines, canals, railroads’18_.

Lynch’s text at this point continues with the definitions of the other four elements. Often those elements are interrelated with each other as they overlap and cross one another.

Resuming we could say that the railway (as one of the paths) is a physically perceptible object along which the city can be observed. Next to it, in the book ‘The Architecture of the city’ Aldo Rossi says:

‘To define primary elements is by no means easy. When we study a city, we find that the urban whole tends to be divided according to three principal functions: housing, fixed activities and circulation. “Fixed activities” include stores, public and commercial buildings, universities, hospitals and school. In addition, the urban literature also speaks of urban equipment, urban standards, services and infrastructures. To simplify matters I will consider fixed activities

as included within primary elements’19_.

The railway is an infrastructure, one of the fixed activities as Rossi mentions. As such it is also a primary element, an element, following Rossi,

‘...capable of accelerating the process of urbanization in a city, and they also characterize the processes of spatial transformation in an area larger than the

city. Often they act as catalysts’20_.

18

Kevin Lynch, The image of city, p. 46-47, Chapter III. 19

city, p. 86.

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18

Using the writings of both authors so far, I could come to the following formulation: the architecture of the railway could be understood as the making of the entire range of buildings forming the physical body of the railway yard in the city, all of them being part of a primary

element.

Going a bit further I would like at this point to refer to other writings on this matter. In one of his previous articles ‘I problemi metodologici

della ricerca urbana’, published afterwards in the book ’Scritti scelti

sull’architettura e la città’21_{, Aldo Rossi names three propositions as}

the fundamental bases for his method in urban research. The first proposition regards the fact that every development of the city is linked with the factor time. The spatial continuity of the city is the second one. The third and last proposition concerns elements of particular nature that have the power to delay or accelerate the urban process.

‘…Suppongo che alcuni studiosi si riferiscano a questi elementi quando parlano di strutture o infrastrutture ma poiché di questo termine, in questa sede, non ci è mai stata offerta nessuna giustificazione logica io preferirei non

usarlo’22_.

At this point of his article (dated 1965), Aldo Rossi, without discussing it much further, refers to Kevin Lynch’s fixed activities.

Subsequently, in ‘L’architettura della città’23_{(1966), although he}

admits the importance of (among others) infrastructure as primary element for the city24_{, Aldo Rossi describes the role of primary}

elements in the transformation processes of the city mainly using monuments (one of the primary elements). In both writings Aldo Rossi does not touch the theme of infrastructure extensively.

Considering the fact that railways are, as primary elements, the catalysts of developments in the city, the scope of my approach is to analyze their dynamics in the urban context in terms of architecture. Like already mentioned before, I look at the ‘project of architecture’ as an important device to understand the transformations of the city due to its interrelations with the railroad.

To be more explicit about this concept I will now explain what I mean by ‘project of architecture’. Previously in this text, in the seventh note to be precise, I’ve quoted a specific part of an essay of Jasper Cepl about the influence of Oswald Mathias Ungers on the work of

20

city, p. 87.

21

Aldo Rossi, I problemi metodologici

della ricerca urbana, in Scritti scelti sull’architettura e la città, 1975, p.

280-281. 22

Translated in English: ‘…I suppose some researchers are referring to these elements when they talk about structures or infrastructures but because on this term, in the framework of this study, nobody can provide a logical justification, I would prefer not to use it’. 23

Afterwords translated in The

Architecture of the city.

24

See also note 19.

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19

Hans Kollhoff. It is widely known that in his long career as architect and theorist Ungers has been particularly keen on the correct understanding of his main architectural ideas through his different projects. In his book ‘Architecture comme thème’, Ungers explains his opinions about the idea of architecture embraced by the Bauhaus. As Ungers sets out, in the doctrine of the Bauhaus architecture is entirely determined by the functions, by the technology and by the goals to which architecture has to comply to25_{. Quoting the words of Gropius “….If aiming at a}

chair, a building, a city or a regional plan, the way to approach the project has to be identical”26_{, Ungers expresses his disagreement with}

this reduction of architecture to an element of a general process of production. Ungers believes that architecture is a richer form of art and that the functional need, although very important, is only one of the aspects to be solved by the project. According to Ungers it is extremely important to invent and define a theme in every project of architecture. The most important task of the architect must be not the one of accomplishing the goals from the mere functional point of view; instead, he should work on the possibility to translate the functional necessities into an important theme for the elaboration of the project. In this way researching a theme is the condition as well as the content of the project of architecture. Therefore the theme allows the transformation of the pragmatic reality of the project (the functional necessity) and makes possible its connection with the metaphysic world of ideas, with life and society. The project of architecture is in this respect not only a solution for the given programme but also the occasion to work on the dialectic interconnections between an intervention and its physics or metaphysics surroundings.

Research hypotheses

The architectural perspective from which the relationship between railway and city will be treated needs, particularly in part five of this thesis, the use of basic assumptions. Therefore the acceptance of the following two hypotheses is fundamental:

1st_{research hypothesis:}

The railway yard can be read as a sequence of buildings, that are influencing the development and the form of the surrounding urban

25

O.M. Ungers, introduction to the book Architecture comme thème, p.9.

26

O.M. Ungers quotes Gropius in the same text, see note 25.

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spaces. Following this assumption, stations but also viaducts, bridges etc. could be considered as particular kinds of buildings.

Using this first hypothesis I would like to stress that the realization of the railway in whatever setting, but especially in the setting of the city, is a theme of architecture. All the buildings constituting the railway are part of the built environment of the city and, as such, are interacting with it. This fact is important in terms of perception of the city (‘The image of city’ of Kevin Lynch) as well as in terms of construction of it (‘The Architecture of the city’ of Aldo Rossi).

2nd_{research hypothesis:}

In order to study the relationship between the railway and the city, the concept of continuity of the urban spaces will be used as basic assumption (as Aldo Rossi mentions in ‘I problemi metodologici della

ricerca urbana’27_).

Accepting this second proposition means that we could consider all the facts that occurred in a city, or in a certain part of it, have a homogenous nature. As Aldo Rossi says, we could suppose that there are no fundamental breaks in the series of elements located in the same city (or part of it).

Following this assumption the railway yard could then be seen as an element of transition and not necessarily as a barrier.

Motivations External motivations

The current relevance of the theme is certainly the most important motivation. In many European countries new railway (high-speed) networks are under construction. Many questions arise: what kind of impact will they have on the existing cities? What can we learn from the previous experiences and apply in the future?

In addition, the relationship between the railway and the city is a very interesting matter if considered through the projects of architecture. It can be analysed and discussed on different scale levels: from the scale of the city until the scale of the building.

Another motivation is found during the work in the MSc3 & 4 Urban Architecture/Hybrid Buildings at the Faculty of Architecture of Delft. I came across the problem of the railway and its presence in the city

27

In this article, Rossi explains that all events that have taken place in a.. ..city, or a specific part of the city, have a common nature and that there are no fundamental interruptions in this series of elements that are situated in the same city (or a part thereof). ‘I

problemi metodologici della ricerca urbana’ (Methodological issues in

urban research), was included in the compilation: La formazione del concetto di tipologia edilizia. The article was also published in: Aldo Rossi, Scritti scelti sull’architettura e

la città, p. 278.

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21

as a physical barrier. The project area we were studying was strongly influenced by the railway yard. How to deal with this problem, from different points of view, was one of our concerns. For this reason there was a need to create a research framework and use it as background for the design studies.

Personal motivations

My personal fascination for the railroad and its buildings goes back in time. It reminds me of my childhood, when I daily used to play just beside a railway. That railway was part of my daily life just as much as the narrow street serving the front door of the apartment building where I used to live.

Next to my childhood memories, personally speaking I think this research should be seen also as an attempt to link the teaching work (the work that we usually do in design studios together with students) with the aims of the running research programme at the Faculty of Architecture of the TU Delft. I believe this should be one of the most essential goals of making research. Therefore I would be very grateful if the results of this work could be (partly) used as a base for further research in design projects.

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22

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23

Introduction

The relationship between the mutations of the countryside, the development of the cities and the implementation of the transportation network represent a unique issue for the low lands in the west of The Netherlands. In the past 150 years this part of the country has changed drastically, undergoing a process of transformation without precedent. A comparison between the geographical maps of 1850 and 2000 will show not only the mutations of the cities but also the evident changes of the territory.

Since a few decades the term Randstad28_{is widely used referring}

to the agglomeration of cities in the west of The Netherlands. Peculiar of the Randstad is its form, composed by a sequence of cities developing more or less into a circle. Being the most prosperous part of the country, the Randstad became also a socio-economical model. This is the reason why the planning of its territory is one of the most relevant matters from a political point of view.

Development and morphology of this region are determined by several factors. To my opinion a key issue is the relationship between geography, morphology of its territory and the transportation systems. Especially the switch from waterways to railways as means of transportation and, as a consequence of it, the update of infrastructures, represents a fundamental step in the morphological determination of the Randstad as we know it today. Particularly the first Dutch railway, the one connecting Amsterdam to Haarlem, plays a key role in all this. It traces the contours of the Randstad and influences the development

of the Dutch city. 28

See note 5.

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24

In his article ‘Randstad Holland in kaart’29_{Henk Engel schematizes the}

process of urbanization of the Randstad in four phases, resuming the most relevant data into four maps: 1850, 1940, 1970 and 2000. The choice for these four periods allows a straightforward comprehension of a range of different issues at first glance. Henk Engel underlines in his article that the choice for four ‘morphological periods’ is based on the kinds of urban fabric characterizing the Dutch city. The ‘canal town’ is typical up to 1850, the ‘town of streets and building blocks’ for the period between 1850 and 1940, the ‘open town with green belts and built-up areas’ for the time span between 1940 and 1970 and finally the ‘cluster city’ for the period after 1970.

It is not a coincidence that the same time span of the maps embraces also the full development of railroads in the Dutch cities, with the only exception of not showing the situation before the construction of the first railway lines (1839-1850). In addition, considering the issue of infrastructures in a more detailed way, a closer look at the maps will show that the time span between 1850 and 1940 is actually too long and therefore it would be more sensible to put another map in between in order to point out some important developments. In this respect Henk Engel too advises to introduce another date in between, the year 1910. Adding the map of 1910 would mean taking into account the great development of infrastructures in the second part of the XIXth century and the consequential development of the cities regulated by the ‘Woningwet’ (Housing law) of 1901.

The construction and the implementation of infrastructures, and particularly of railway lines, need special attention in the Dutch case. The transportation on water, up to the end of the eighteenth century essential means of communication, was weakened in his leading role especially after the advent of railroads. This fact has a considerable impact on the way the Dutch cities would develop after the first half of the nineteenth century.

W. van den Broeke made an attempt to schematize in periods the evolution of railways in The Netherlands following the way railway companies operated30_{. As he suggests, we can classify the}

development of Dutch railways into four time spans. The first is characterized by the private construction and exploitation of railways and runs up to 1860, when the railway law S45 was issued31_{. Between}

1860 and 1890 the railroads are mainly realized by the state while

29

H. Engel, Randstad Holland in kaart, article in OverHolland 2, 2005. 30

W. van den Broeke makes a suggestion for the classification of the first 100 years of Dutch railways into four periods. See also his article, Het spoor terug gevolgd.

De eerste honderd jaar (1839-1939),

in J.A. Faber, Het spoor, 150

jaar spoorwegen in Nederland.

Amsterdam, 1989, p. 11-12. 31

On August 18th_{1860 the so called}

S.45 railway law was issued, favouring the construction of railways by the state. See also J. H. Jonckers Nieboer, Geschiedenis

der Nederlandse Spoorwegen 1832-1938, p.97.

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2

MAP OF THE RANDSTAD yEAR 2000.

3

MAP OF THE RANDSTAD yEAR 1850.

4

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL MAP OF THE NETHERLANDS. THE RANDSTAD, IN THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE COUNTRy, IS LOCATED UNDER THE SEA LEVEL.

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26

they are runned by private companies. After 1890 several contracts will be signed between state and railway companies, resulting in a phase of concentration of activities and competition. This period will be actually ended by the 1917 agreement between HIJSM (a private railway company) and SS (the state railway company). In the fourth phase, between 1917 and 1939, the two railway giants work together. After 1939, and this would probably be the last and current phase, the Dutch railways are functioning as N.V. Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the only remaining railway company set up after the reorganization law issued in the same year.

This part of the research aims to offer a general insight into the phenomenon of railroads in the Netherlands with special attention to urban planning and architecture aspects. Starting with the means of transportation before the construction of railways and ending with some considerations about the contemporary developments, in the following texts I will deal with the most relevant issues in a chronological order.

The low lands: territory and transport until the first decades of the nineteenth century

The relationship between the organization of territory and the development of cities and landscapes is quite exceptional in The Netherlands if compared to the rest of Europe. The most particular aspect is certainly the continuous effort of claiming land and protecting it from the water. In order to comprehend this territory it’s necessary to consider the geomorphologic and historical context of the Rhine delta32_.

Until 1500 the central part of the country, the one that we could identify today as the Randstad, it nothing more than an extended swampy area in which flat-bottomed boats are the only way to move. The few cities were erected mainly on sand tops and surrounded by dikes, protecting them from the water as well as enemies. Maps of that time show big lakes, rivers and other watercourses. Since the Middle age a system of reasonably developed canals characterizes the territory in question, ordering its landscape and cities. On the contrary there are only few traces of roads.

32

For extensive information about the relationship between the geomorphology of The Netherlands and the transportation systems up to the nineteenth century see J. de Vries, Barges & Capitalism.

Passenger transportation in the Dutch Economy (1632-1839), 1981.

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5

BIRTH-EyE VIEW OF AMSTERDAM IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURy. AUTHOR DRAWING: CORNELIS ANTHONISZ.

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6

THE ‘TREKSCHUIT’, THE TyPICAL DUTCH TOWED BARGE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS.

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29

The canals, fundamental in the organization of the Dutch cities and far more important than roads, were widely used for transport inside the city. First built as important drainage facilities, by the year 1600 the canals fulfilled also an important role in passenger transportation outside the cities. We cannot say that it was a perfect network of transportation (certainly it was not for goods), but a multiple system of barges ensured the links between the economic centres of the west Netherlands.

One of the historical maps of Amsterdam33_{also clearly shows the}

strong relationship with the water. The layout of the city is organized by a efficient net of canals enclosed in the system of fortifications. The presence of many boats confirms the fact that transportation in the city took place mainly on water.

Road transport played no role until 180034_{. The condition of roads}

was very poor up to the Napoleonic time. In fact only during the first decades of the 1800s a number of well-paved highways were built in order to accommodate the increasing traffic of coaches and wagons. In this period water transportation also transformed a lot. Existing navigable canals were improved and new ones were built offering for the first time, in combination with the new highways on the ground, an integrated transport network. The most important work of this period is certainly the realization of the North Holland Channel (1824), which allowed a direct connection from the harbour of Amsterdam to the North Sea avoiding the circumnavigation of the inner sea35_{. In the}

mean time also the port of Rotterdam was improved and enlarged quite a bit, offering a serious competition to the one of Amsterdam and Antwerp in Belgium. In terms of transport one of the biggest issues of that time was creating a better and quicker connection with the Rhineland region of Germany. This industrialized area was growing rapidly and needed transportation of goods to and from the North Sea.

The industrial revolution further encouraged studies about steam power. The steam engine was developed at the end of the eighteenth century for several purposes and used in road and water transportation. The first application of steam power for locomotives took place in 1804. In this year the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick constructed the first locomotive able to run on tracks36_{. This experiment, although}

33

See also the image of the birth-eye view of Amsterdam in the second half of the sixteenth century made by Cornelis Anthonisz.

34

As Henk Schmal explains in his article Cities ans railways in The

Netherlands between 1830 and 1860, published in the book R.

Roth & M. N. Polino, The City and

the Railway in Europe, 2003, p.

29-44. 35

The so called Zuiderzee. 36

Source: J. Simmons, The making of

British Railways, p.3.

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30

successful, showed the importance of finding the right balance between the weight of the locomotive and the thickness of the tracks. Based on the extensive studies of George Stephenson, the first locomotive could be improved into a pivotal machine. In 1822 George Stephenson organized a successful demonstration for Edward Pease, at that time involved with the planning of the first official railroad from Stockton to Darlington. The main line of this railroad was over 40 kilometres long and was planned to transport both passengers and goods. The opening of the Stockton & Darlington railroad was held on September 27th

1825 and a locomotive built by George Stephenson pulled the train that was carrying only passengers. Next to the locomotive also horses and stationary engines pulled the train in some part of the railroads. George Stephenson’s machine was a great success and marked the beginning of a new era for the world.

The first railway and the shaping of the Randstad

Despite the great success of the locomotive and the publicity in the media all over the world, in terms of realization the railway remained an English phenomenon up to 1830, when in France a section of the St. Étienne and Lyon line was opened. In this period almost every European country, having been convinced by the advantages of the train, was busy developing plans for railroads. The actual construction of a railroad was in fact a difficult matter. Once its section was established, the building of a railway line required many bureaucratic permissions, a clear plan for the expropriation of land and, last but not least, a huge amount of money. For these reasons the development of railway lines took generally more time than foreseen.

Projects for railroads in Holland were discussed since 1830 but a general lack of interest by the national politicians caused extra delay in the realization of the first railway line. Local politicians and Chambers of Commerce were more interested in the possibilities the railways offered for transporting goods. Introducing the railroad in the Netherlands was not an easy task. From an economical point of view there were several uncertainties. The investors of the H.IJ.S.M37_,

who were about to finance the first railway line of the country, had to compete with the existing mass transportation system on the water.

37

The H.IJ.S.M. (Hollandsche Ijzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij), Dutch Railway Company, gets the permit for the construction of the oldest railway line in the Netherlands, see also J. H. Jonckers Nieboer,

Geschiedenis der Nederlandse Spoorwegen 1832-1938, 1938,

p.337-342.

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7 (6 MAPS)

SCHEMES SHOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DUTCH RAILWAy NETWORK. FROM 1840 TO 1900: IN GREEN THE RAILROADS OF THE HIJSM (HOLLANDS IJZEREN SPOORWEG MAATSCHAPPIJ); IN RED THE ONE OF THE NRS (NEDERLANDSE RHIJNSPOORWEG MAATSCHAPPIJ); IN WHITE THE RAILROADS OF THE SS (STAATSSPOORWEGEN); IN OTHER COLORS OTHER MINOR RAILWAy COMPANIES. FROM 1940 TO 1980 THE NS (NEDERLANDSE SPOORWEGEN) IS THE ONLy COMPANy: IN RED THE ELECTRIFIED RAILROADS, IN BLACK THE OTHER ONES.

Railways in the urban context: An architectural discourse

Railways in the Urban Context

an architectural discourse

Roberto Cavallo

Railways in the Urban Context

an architectural discourse

Proefschrift

Contents

Preface

PART 1