In other time, one of the most dangerous and degraded neighborhoods of Amsterdam opens a new subway station of € 14 million. London and Rotterdam based architecture firm, Maccreanor Lavington has completed a major new metro station in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The new station by Maccreanor Lavington, is 550m² station and 1,880m² platform in the neighbourhood of Bijlmermeer started on site in 2010 and sits on the site of the original station, built in 1970.

The metro station features a ground level entrance with new escalators to take passengers up to the platforms, a major improvement for citizens as the old station only had stairs. The ground level entrance provides the main focal point of the station with an elegant stainless steel façade with a floral design. The laser cut design allows plenty of natural light to flow through the entrance, helping the passenger journey to seamlessly flow from the external surroundings into the station.

At night time the design allows the station to be a lantern for the local neighbourhood, creating a sense of warmth on street level and creating an instantly recognizable feature for the station. The architects’ chose stainless steel for the external façade due to its durability and low maintenance enabling the station not to need constant upkeep.

Since the beginning of the late 1990s the area has seen massive investment transforming it from its previous negative public opinion and now making it a thriving suburb of Amsterdam.

Now completed, the station will be in use by over 100,000 residents in Bijlmermeer, a vast increase on the number of users from when the station first opened and completes one of the biggest urban regeneration projects in Europe in recent history.

About Bejlimermeer.

Bijlmermeer is in the South-East of Amsterdam and is home to 100,000 residents from over 150 nationalities. The neighbourhood was originally designed as a hexagonal grid of almost identical high-rise brutalist blocks. Construction of the city started in 1962 with the first apartments opening by the Queen on 1968.

Poor management by many governments made the neighbourhood gained notoriety and reputation of high crime levels and social segregation from other areas of Amsterdam. After a steady abandonment of public administration in the late 1990s, and after that a passenger plane crashed into one of the blocks, changed the criteria of many administrations and a huge investment was aimed at the city with new architectures, regenerating existing architectures and building new homes, favoring and creating social diversification.

CREDITS.-

Architects.- Maccreanor Lavington Architects.
Structural Engineer.- Ingenieursbureau Amsterdam. M&E Engineer.- Arcadis. Lighting Consultant.- Sjoerd van Beers, Beersnielsen.
Contractor.- Strukton Bouw.
Client.- Dienst infrastructuur Verkeer Vervoer, GVB, Stadsdeel Zuidoost.
Contract Value.- €14.000.000
Interiors.- Maccreanor Lavington.

Materials.- Façade: stainless steel, AISI 316, 5mm thick.
Floor.- Ceramic tiles, 600x600mm, Unglazed, dry-pressed, single-fired, fully vitrified slip resistant.
Wall.- Ceramic tiles, 150x150mm, corner specials. Unglazed, dry-pressed, single-fired, fully vitrified slip resistant floor tiles.

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Maccreanor Lavington Architects was established in London and Rotterdam in the early nineties by Gerard Maccreanor and Richard Lavington. Their diverse portfolio ranges from individual buildings to large scale urban design, with particular expertise in housing, public buildings and the regeneration of town centres and former industrial zones. They have received numerous awards, most recently an RIBA National Award (2013), the New London Architecture Award (2013) and a Housing Design Award (2013). They also received the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize in 2008 alongside Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Alison Brooks Architects.

Gerard Maccreanor. B.Sc. B.Arch. RIBA. Gerard graduated in 1987 from Bath University and established Maccreanor Lavington Architects in partnership with Richard Lavington in 1992. Gerard has overseen the design and construction of over 2500 residential units, many of which form a part of larger mixed use schemes.

He is the managing principle for a number of large scale urban design projects, including; South Dagenham West; London (38ha), Thameside West, London (63ha) and Barking Riverside (52ha). Gerard has been leading a series of projects in collaboration with KCAP, including; the redevelopment of Bishopsgate Goodsyard, London; (5ha) and the Royals Business Park, London; (21ha).

Gerard is also overseeing a number of infrastructure projects, which include the DLR extension from Beckton to Dagenham in London, a new metro station at Kraaiennest in Amsterdam and a transport interchange in Dagenham, London.

He was a member of the RIBA Competition Advisory Committee (1991-1995), the Europan UK secretariat (1993-1998), assessor for the Arts Council of England Lottery Fund (1994-1996). He was a Jury member for various European competitions like Europan 5 (The Netherlands) and Europan 6 (Spain). Gerard has recently been appointed as a member of the CABE Design Review Panel (2009-2014).

Gerard has taught at many University Schools of Architecture including The Bartlett and Westminster in London, Canterbury, Bath, Belfast, The Technische Universiteit Delft and The School of Architecture, Stockholm.

Richard Lavington. B.Sc. B.Arch. RIBA. Richard graduated in 1987 from Bath University. He established Maccreanor Lavington Architects in 1992 with Gerard Maccreanor. Under his direction the office has gained considerable experience in the design of mixed-use buildings and neighbourhoods and has developed collaborations with a number of other architectural offices on a wide variety of projects.

Richard has led the office's work on many projects, including Accordia in Cambridge, a Church and Community Centre in Salford, the Lux in Hoxton Square, London and a new hotel close to St George's Circus, London and has worked on framework plans for the town centres in both Basildon and Chatham.

He is a member of the Europan UK steering Group, a board member of Design for Homes and has served as a consultant architectural assessor to the Arts Council of England Lottery Fund. He is on the Steering group for the Housing Design Awards, is included on the panel of enablers for CABE and is member of the East of England Design Review Panel. He has also recently accepted an appointment as a member of the panel of design advisors to the LDA.

Until recently, he was also a Studio Leader at the University of Bath where he was responsible for directing the final year Masters studio, along with Sarah Hare and he has previously taught at many other University Schools of Architecture including Cambridge, Nottingham, Canterbury, The Queens University Belfast and the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow.

Gerard Maccreanor . Richard Lavington.

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