In collaboration with the architect Manuel de Solà-Morales, we drew up the design for the Martelarenplein, the square in front of Leuven’s railway station, redevelopment. The intervention was based on creating an underpass for traffic in order to enhance the pedestrian use of the square. The presence of the railway and bus stations, complemented by proposed underground parking, converted the new square into a place of modal interchange capable of dealing with the future shuttle station for the high-speed train. Due to the proximity of the surrounding buildings, construction work included creating the diaphragm walls before excavating the car park and underground thoroughfares. The basic typology of the structure was defined as a 10.20 x 8 m grid of reinforced concrete columns supporting post-tensioned slabs forming level -1 and the base for the subsequent development of the square. The pedestrian ramp was an original solution, communicating the level of the square with the access tunnel to the ground-level platforms by means of a box-section suspended from the floor slabs.
• Perspective showing the remodelling of the square. • Computer graphics showing the underground parking garage. • Views of the parking garage, the pedestrian ramp and the underpass. • General plan showing the square’s urban planning project. • Aerial view of the remodelled square.
LEUVEN RAILWAY STATION SQUARE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT Belgium, 1997-1998