A NEW CITY IMAGE

Eindhoven has long branded itself as a “brainport” city. The concepts of Technolody-Design-Knowledge [TDK] become the drivers for the development of the new station area. The proposed new towers designed by OMA showcase the brand of the city as an international destination in design and innovation. Tying to this, the strategy for the public space builds upon the notions of the adaptive and smart city. By re-organizing mobility in the station area, new typologies of public space are introduced, firstly adapting to the needs of the city and its dwellers but adapting as well to the current challenges of climate change.

A WARM WELCOME

The mineral environment of the station area is transformed into a lively public heart, linking the station to the city centre. The station square acts as a new green meeting hub, providing opportunities to meet, sit and relax, while accommodating large pedestrian flows. A new “green forest” occupies the former vehicular space and links the station to the larger-scale natural structures of the city. The urban boulevard in between the buildings becomes an adaptable public space, defining the “square of the 21st century”: a layered public space integrating flexible uses (daily uses versus large events) and climate adaptive systems for heating, cooling and water management.

AN INTEGRATED BLUE STRATEGY

The reveal of the former “Gender” as an open-water, artificial stream signals the ambition to bring back the water into the public realm through a series of pools, mist fountains and stream channels. All of these components shape an integrated strategy for capturing rain water, purifying it through visible features in the public space, storing it for dry periods and eventually releasing it back to the city rivers.