Driebergen-Zeist - The station environment at Driebergen-Zeist has been completely redesigned. The station and its surroundings have been transformed from a traffic bottleneck to a compact, safe and sustainable public transport interchange. The level crossing no longer causes long queues and unsafe situations. The capacity of the track has been increased and there is more bicycle storage as well as more space to park. The redevelopment was taken as an opportunity to further enhance the green character of the area. The new design of the area also improves accessibility for nearby business, including the new head office of Triodos Bank.
| Location | Driebergen-Zeist Google Maps |
| Assignment | Design Station environment |
| Size | 5 hectares |
| Design | 2010-2020 |
| Construction | 2017-2020 |
| Client | Prorail, NS |
| Team | Luc Veeger, Jeroen Eulderink, Kees Neven, Leonoor van der Linden, Hans Smolenaers |
The location of Driebergen-Zeist station, surrounded by various estates, provided the inspiration to design the station area itself as a kind of ‘station estate’. The design is based on elements of the English landscaping style. The station has therefore become a pleasant, social and safe place as well as a compact public-transport interchange.
Sustainability plays an important role at the Driebergen-Zeist station estate. This can be seen in the choice of materials but also the relationship with the surrounding estates. Arcadis created an integrated spatial design in which road, rail and station are carefully embedded among the many large, impressive trees and historic estates. The plan also includes an NNN compensation area, as part of the “Connecting and Preserving Nature” vision. The many robust new groups of trees around the station, bus station and roads result in a very green station environment, forming a gateway to the Utrecht Hill Ridge.
We were also involved in the initiative phase and planning study phase, as well as the zoning plan and Council of State procedure. We created the reference design, image-quality plan and the design of the temporary station, as well as handling the communication and consultation with local residents, businesses and estates. Finally, we were responsible for drawing up various agreements and contracts as well as tendering and supervision of the contracts.
