Amsterdam Sloterdijk Hemboog Chord & Neighbourhood
A very historic country, a very modern train station and serendipity
Sloterjik West End
My first impression; the train dumped us into the bowels of a caterpillar made of glass cement and metal . It had just rained. There was no sun. The station was gloomy. This is not what I imagined a modern Amsterdam train station should look like. I was disappointed.
The sun popped out of the clouds and the station completely transformed. The way the station handled the light was unexpected. Out came the camera and the study was created. This was in October of 2008.
The vertical capture just catches the sun and the nuances of reflection, highlights and shadows. The glow instantly uplifted the whole place. There was an instant luminescence pleasing reflections and shadows everywhere.
Sloterdijk West End View With Train
The sun came out in full force. This hardened the light a lot. The haze was a fill light and now it was gone. It was only a minute later but the image is completely different. The hard backlighting made the ribs dark but the central platform details now glowed. With lots of reflections everywhere, even the side of the train is illuminated.
The architect who created this definitely understood light and the effect of materials.
Sloterdijk West View: The Phone Call
Sloterdijk East View with train
Sloterdijk South View
Sloterdijk East Track 10 View with train
I figured that at best, I would have time for a few images and then we would be off.
Catching snippets while travelling was a way of life at that time. I was touring english speaking Europe running seminars about better digital photography for Phase One Denmark and running workshops for my book “Capture One Applied Craftsmanship”.
Eric (a college) and I had just arrived from Antwerp Belgium. Our handler, DJ was to meet us at the train but nobody was there and we had no idea where to go.
After a few minutes, Eric called DJ. One person on a cell phone; the composition just happened and it was perfect. The clouds were starting to soften the sun and the whole station was glowing again.
Sloterdijk East View
Looking east, the glow was even greater.
The building is an arched platform over a large street intersection, a very efficient use of space. The arc allows light reflections that are constantly changing with position of view, movement of the sun and direction viewed. Everywhere there is both light and dark making the arched shape even more pronounced.
The pristine nature of the station was striking. How could they keep something so large so perfectly clean and kept-up?
The reflections and brightness are at movie set intensity but it’s natural light.
Once I finally did some research, I stumbled onto some surprising facts.
Officially the station opened in December of 2008. This study was created in October of 2008. The station was open before the official open date.
When I was capturing these images, it never realized the station was new.
Wikipedia offers a terrific definition of Serendipity:
Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery.
Sloterdijk North View Schedule and feet
When intent is focused, moments happen. The composition was ready but it was not working. Someone walking along the platform, stopped to wait for a train in the perfect spot. Conveniently, they stood there for some time.
When intent is focused, serendipity becomes a photo assistant. Maybe this study should have been called Serendipity.
I noticed how dirty the glass seemed to be near the bottom. There were water marks on the cement wall going down to the tracks. Why was this not perfect like the rest of the station?
After I found out it was a new station, I realized that the dirt looked more like construction dust.
The structure of the Hemboog Chord has reinforcing sections that create a chevron pattern. Each side aims towards the top with the centre having no reinforcement.
This type of design provides a sense of movement or motion even when nothing is moving. The sky becoming clear and mostly cloud free puts all the emphasis on the form and structure.
At this point it became obvious that the chevron pattern needed more study.
Sloterdijk East Track 9 View
A great way to show a repeating architectural detail is to show a complete portion plus a detail. this composition is nearly a perfect example.
The Hemboog Chord was designed by Dutch Architect Wienke Scheltens who works with SK Studio, a Dutch design agency for architecture, urban planning and landscape. She handled the architecture of three other stations before taking on the Sloterdijk project.
This is less a building and more a functional sculpture. The central platform is very simple and uncluttered, putting all the emphasis on the structure.
Sloterdijk looking up from the stairwell
DJ our handler arrived and we were off. Seminar attendees were already arriving and we were at the train station. The walk would take us about 20 minutes.
The look up from the stairwell showed interesting reflections on the south wall. The changes from reflective silver on the left to black on the right even when looking directly up.
Walking out of the station
The difficulty with catching motion is balancing the movement with enough detail to clearly see the background. In this case, there is motion and detail.
Eric is to my right and a poster tube plus my right foot are on the left.
DJ was not happy that I wanted to take images as we walked. First impressions can be remarkable.
Tree protector with no tree
Just before we arrived at the Hemboog Chord the rains had been very heavy. Everything was wet with standing water in places. This is a real photographic gift. Everything looks more intense when wet., especially in black and white.
The tree protection ring had no tree and standing water. So graphic. I took the image. DJ mentioned how things like this are rare in Holland. They take trees and plants very seriously, especially in public spaces.
OVEC bv
OVEC Multiservice bv is a steel fabrication, engineering and construction company. This tiny looking building is like the tip of of an iceberg with 90% below water. The steel fabrication plant is behind and to the left but hidden by trees. This tiny footprint actually extends for half of a very long block.
The name at the side is the only sign noting the company name that we saw along the whole building. Very understated.
In Holland, companies that specialize as much as OVEC bv does, do not need much for signage since eveyone knows who they are. It’s a small community.
Humberweg
The first street we came to on the block wat Humberweg. Our host pointed out how much care was being taken with the trees on this street.
This is something I have never seen in North America. I am sure it exists somewhere but I doubt things would be this clean and kept up to this degree. Having everything wet puts even more emphasis on how important appearances are in this industrial area of Amsterdam.