John Körmeling
Atelier HSL: design for the new meeting point for HSL stations

Meeting point
In these times of increased mobility, it has become increasingly important to have recognizable 'meeting points' in stations. The aim of a meeting point is to create a place in the station that is easy to find and recognize. This people-connecting work of art represents one way in which to make the time spent in a station a more pleasant experience. In order to conceive of a new type of meeting point that would furthermore be usable in different HSL stations in the Netherlands, Atelier HSL (studio) took the initiative to commission a number of different design plans. The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch national railway), Ministerie van VROM (Ministry of Housing, Regional Development and the Environment) and ProRail participated in the project. One of the criteria of the design was that the meeting point needed to be a haven of peace amidst all the commotion of travelers. In addition to this it needed to have a form that would be appealing, inviting and always visible.

Humorous, cheerful and playful
After the advisory committee made preliminary tests and the artists explained their designs to the jury, a winner was chosen. The four runners-up were designs by French designer Matali Crasset, French artist Xavier Veilhan, British artist Liam Gillick and Dutch artists Hewald Jongenelis & Sylvie Zijlmans. The jury, which was made up of Anita Arts (board of management, ProRail), Bert Meerstadt (board of directors, NS), Nathalie de Vries (railway architect), Cees van Boven (D.G. Space, The Ministry of Housing, Regional Development and the Environment), Menno Dieperink (Senior designer, Philips Design) and Nelly Voorhuis (manager Atelier HSL), unanimously chose John Körmeling's design. Körmeling’s sculpture consists of a winding path that leads up to a small, elevated house. By walking up the path, travelers are lifted out of the flow of human traffic. In this way they are in a good position to see if the person they are waiting for is approaching. The jury described Körmeling's design as 'humorous, cheerful and playful'. His romantic design offers a beautiful contrast to the austere architecture of the new stations. Körmeling will continue to develop his design for each of the seven HSL-Stations. The artist's underlying idea of an inclining and winding path will be retained in these designs. The only difference will be that every meeting point, depending on the location in which it is placed, will gain another character and form. Körmeling will not only pay attention to design aspects but also to aspects of safety and maintenance.

High-speed railway stations
In 2007 Europe will be on every Dutch person’s doorstep as Holland connects to its high-speed railway network. Cities like Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and Frankfurt will be as easy to reach as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen and Maastricht. In order to serve these new high-speed railway passengers, six Dutch stations are being transformed into public transport terminals with international allure and facilities. Breda, Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam Central Station, Zuid -WTC, Utrecht and Arnhem will be extensively renovated in the coming years. The areas surrounding the stations will also be given a makeover. The Ministry of Housing, Regional Development and the Environment, The Ministry of Transport, the six participating cities, the NS (national Dutch railway) and ProRail worked together to create international accessibility that focused on living and working in these cities. Until recently the plans for the HSL-stations did not include a meeting point. Yet there seemed to be a real need for a well-functioning meeting point such as, for example, the work that Dennis Adams designed for Schiphol Airport. In the future John Körmeling's works will perform an identical function in a variety of stations.