I thought I would share another image from the Liège-Guillemins train station. Descending from the train platform into the main lobby are several staircases such as this. It reminded me of a skeleton key as I reached this point, halfway down. Similar to the exterior facade, the architect uses rib-like features on both sides and if you look at the floor, you can see the reflection of the ribbed ceiling below.
Baleen
I recently spent several days driving through Belgium and the Netherlands in an effort to photograph some places that I had not seen before. My first stop was the Liège-Guillemins train station in Liège…not because I was catching a train, but because it is a magnificent structure. The station was renovated in 2009 with a modern steel, glass and concrete facade designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava.
I wandered the station for a couple of hours and ended up taking many more photos than I expected. The arches, ribs, lines and curves allow for an almost endless number of compositions. In addition, the shadows were lengthening as the sun was going down and the station seemed to change every few minutes. As the blue hour arrived, the lights transformed the station yet again. Many elements that were cast in shadow a few minutes ago were now illuminated and vice versa…such a clever design.
This image was taken on one side of the upper platform, looking towards the center. It is a bit hard to describe how the structure changes with the light…photos do a better job. As a result, I hope to share several more images taken here in the coming weeks.
Lastly, I shared an image several weeks ago of the Transportation Hub at the World Trade Center. As it turns out, Calatrava was also the architect for this station. You can view The Hub image here and see some of the similarities in Calatrava’s designs.