Cultural-historical assessments of Dutch stations
NS Stations, ProRail & Bureau Spoorbouwmeester
Cultural-historical assessments
Uniform publication series for all Dutch stations
About this project
Between 2015 and 2016, I worked on one of my most substantial and extensive projects: designing 64 cultural-historical assessments of Dutch railway stations, later expanded to 75 publications. These studies – conducted by various architectural firms – document the history, architecture, and development of the use of all Dutch railway stations.
The publications have been printed in limited editions and distributed to Bureau Spoorbouwmeester, ProRail, and NS Stations, and are available digitally via issuu.com/stationsnl.
Structure and composition
My assignment was to translate all the research into a single, clear, consistent publication series. Because the content was provided by multiple agencies, the challenge was to create a visual structure that offered clarity, structure, and recognizability.
For this I developed:
- one fixed layout and typographic system
- a clear grid for text, drawings and archive material
- a continuous color gradient of blue → green → yellow → orange → red → magenta, so that each booklet has its own color within the same series
In this way, a large amount of material was reduced to one logical and accessible whole.
Content and meaning
Each valuation describes the station's development at multiple scales: from network and city to building details and usage history. The studies highlight architectural development, pedestrian flows, functional changes, and historical elements.
In addition, the publications are an important tool for designers, administrators, municipalities, and other stakeholders working on renovations, conversions, or the preservation of station heritage.
From research to publication & results
In 2016, all valuations were made available online via the Value Assessment Check on spoorbeeld.nl. The complete series was presented during the Station Heritage Symposium at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, where researchers, designers, and policymakers reflected on the value of station heritage.
The project resulted in a recognizable and timeless series that combines design, heritage, and technical clarity – with publications that visually connect despite the diversity of research content.
