{"id":533122,"date":"2025-10-28T11:22:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/533122\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T11:22:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:22:18","slug":"santiago-calatrava-arranges-belgian-station-around-monumental-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/533122\/","title":{"rendered":"Santiago Calatrava arranges Belgian station around “monumental bridge”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swathes of glass<\/a> and steel<\/a> make up the sinuous exterior of the new Gare de Mons station in Belgium<\/a>, which has been designed by Swiss-Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Located along the international Paris to Brussels train line in Mons, the station<\/a>‘s sculptural structure is organised around a raised gallery volume that stretches 165 metres across the site.<\/p>\n

Conceptualised by Calatrava<\/a> as a “monumental bridge”, its volume traverses a series of 350-metre-long platforms and bus stops that extend outwards from the gallery’s underside.<\/p>\n

\"OverheadSantiago Calatrava has completed the Gare de Mons station in Belgium<\/p>\n

Calatrava won the competition for the existing station’s redevelopment in 2006. It serves as a link between a previously disconnected residential area to the north and the historic quarter to the south, while also introducing new facilities like offices, underground parking and retail space to the site.<\/p>\n

“This project transcends the challenges of constructing a new railway station,” Calatrava said.<\/p>\n

“Conceived as a monumental bridge spanning the tracks, it has ignited a profound transformation in its surrounding areas,” he added.<\/p>\n

\"EntranceAn expansive bridge forms the station’s centrepiece<\/p>\n

Externally, the station’s flowing glass and steel form is crowned with a sloping roof that rises to a peak.<\/p>\n

Glass canopies extend from the gallery roof at both its north and south entrances to shelter central staircases flanked by escalators that lead up to the station’s interior.<\/p>\n

Within the station, the structure’s large triangular truss structure is left exposed, with curved, glass entrances to platforms, shops and other facilities framed by its structural curves.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Large<\/p>\n

Grimshaw completes “iconic entry point” for Los Angeles at LAX rail station\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

An operable skylight lined with wooden supports runs along the gallery’s peak to both draw daylight and ventilation through the space.<\/p>\n

Additional wooden details add warmth to the internal facades and are complemented by blue limestone flooring.<\/p>\n

“The central gallery is fully enclosed and insulated, ensuring a comfortable temperature during the colder months,” Calatrava said.<\/p>\n

\"GalleryA skylight draws light and air through the station<\/p>\n

Visitors can descend to the platform from the central space level via stairs, escalators and elevators.<\/p>\n

Sheltered beneath roofs extending from the central volume are seven passenger tracks, while 29 bus stops and taxi stands complete with built-in wooden benches.<\/p>\n

\"Close-upWhite steel and timber were left exposed on the interior<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, below ground, two underground parking facilities are held alongside a 200-unit bike parking facility, which features large structural trusses reminiscent of the upper levels.<\/p>\n

Other spaces include offices, back-of-house facilities for staff and a unit for a childcare facility.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, images of redesigns to the UK passenger terminal for LeShuttle’s Channel Tunnel service were recently unveiled<\/a> and a rail and bus station was designed as an “iconic entry point” for Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Oliver Schuh of Palladium Photodesign<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Swathes of glass and steel make up the sinuous exterior of the new Gare de Mons station in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,1789,4022,77,15454,88304,162265,126129,126130,1218,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-533122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-belgium","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-glass","14":"tag-railway-stations","15":"tag-santiago-calatrava","16":"tag-sectionall","17":"tag-sectionarchitecture","18":"tag-steel","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115451537473630178","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}