Station Driebergen Zeist

ProRail is expanding the railway from two train tracks to four train tracks between Utrecht and Arnhem. As a result of this, the intersection at station Driebergen-Zuid will be remodeled and the road will be led underneath the railway. Arcadis developed an entirely new design for the redevelopment of the railway, the station and the surroundings.

The station area has to become a high-quality public transportation hub. On top of that, it has to be in accordance with the surrounding partly cultural heritage estates and ecological structure. To achieve this there was a tight co-operation between landscape design and architecture from the beginning.

It was decided to stack functions in order to gain space. The track remains at ground level, below that is the station square and the facilities, and there again under the bicycle shed. By using voids and light streets, daylight comes on all levels and they become connected to each other.

The design for the transport hub Driebergen-Zeist is conceived of as an ‘station estate’ which connects to its environment. The English landscape architecture of the surroundings is reflected in the landscape design through the use of relief, flowing lines, water and tree groups. Since the station square is essentially a concrete watertight slab, the trees are placed in special tree tubs, which receive rain water that is collected from the square and platform roof. There is a lot of attention for existing trees: they have been carefully measured and each tree has been examined individually to see whether it can be fitted.

The English landscape style has been a source of inspiration for landscape design, while for architecture this was the monumental station canopy. The roof is being renovated and largely replaced. By placing the station facilities below ground level, the lines of sight of the estates that are part of the English landscape style have remained intact and the station area retains an open and landscape like character. In terms of material use, the red bricks on the deepened station square connect to surrounding areas and provide a warm atmosphere.