Integration in the park

Located in the four corners of the city are four odd little buildings which provide few clues as to the important function they fulfil. They are sewage pumping stations, which pump the city’s sewage to the large sewage treatment plant in Westelijk Havengebied. The pumping stations were to be situated in the middle of areas under development and because sewage works have a negative image, the council decreed that the buildings should have an attractive exterior. A competition was organized to design the four pumping stations. The buildings are unmanned and therefore do not need daylight, so the architects had free reign in their design.

The northern, eastern and southern pumping stations are futuristic and eye-catching, but the western pumping station is quite different. This design appears to merge with the forms and lines of the neighbouring bridge over Postjesweg and Rembrandtpark. The building had to house a large technical installation measuring 45 by 16 by 8 metres. Most of the building is situated underneath the bridge on Postjesweg.

The visible part of the design by Buro BEB comprises two seemingly freestanding structures, which mark the pumping station’s main and emergency exits. The main entrance has a viewing balcony on the bridge. The pumping installation is just visible through the wire mesh of the entrance. From here, metal baskets with granite blocks descend in a gentle slope into the water in the park, thereby creating a connection between the bridge, the embankment and the water. The emergency exit is situated further along Postjesweg and consists of a metal-clad concrete building. (ARCAM/LM)