Groningen Spoorzone Design
In April 2023 a design I created using historical photographs from the Groninger Archieven was brought to life at the Groningen train station. The aim of the project is to make the station more attractive to the travelers while it is under renovation.
How did you arrive at your design?
For my design, I wanted to focus on my favorite aspect of train journeys: the anticipation of a new adventure – the feeling of waking up at 4 am to go to the train station and crossing paths with other people checking their tickets. Searching for the right track or quietly sipping coffee before embarking on a common journey. For that, I landed on a photograph that, to me, represents this perfectly. It is an image showing the arrival of the first electric train in Groningen, with a huge crowd of people gathered to celebrate the beginning of a new era for travelling, bringing with it new adventures and new stories. To emphasize on this aspect of modernity at the time, I gave the main subject bright and youthful colors, while contrasting it with black-and-white “windows” into the past, such as a steam engine, that line up with the image underneath .
Could you comment on the realization of the design on monumental scale at the station?
It is always nice to see your work come to life, and I feel it is especially significant to make a visual contribution to a place that holds so much history while also working with the photographs that documented it. I think this year's designs bring a unique and interesting perspective to the station, as all 3 of the chosen ones are made by international students, which makes for a nice reflection of how diverse train stations usually are. The thought of so many people seeing my design is both exhilarating and just a little bit terrifying. My hope is that it will invite the travelers to take a closer look and find a familiarity in the little details.
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