Santiago Calatrava arranges Belgian station around "monumental bridge"

Swathes of glass and steel make up the sinuous exterior of the new Gare de Mons station in Belgium, which has been designed by Swiss-Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Located along the international Paris to Brussels train line in Mons, the station's sculptural structure is organized around a raised gallery volume that stretches 165 meters across the site.

Conceptualized by Calatrava as a "monumental bridge", its volume traverses a series of 350-metre-long platforms and bus stops that extend outwards from the gallery's underside.

Calatrava won the competition for the existing station's redevelopment in 2006. It serves as a link between a previously disconnected residential area to the north and the historic quarter to the south, while also introducing new facilities like offices, underground parking and retail space to the site.

"This project transcends the challenges of constructing a new railway station," Calatrava said.

"Conceived as a monumental bridge spanning the tracks, it has ignited a profound transformation in its surrounding areas," he added.

Externally, the station's flowing glass and steel form is crowned with a sloping roof that rises to a peak.

Glass canopies extend from the gallery roof at both its north and south entrances to shelter central staircases flanked by escalators that lead up to the station's interior.

Within the station, the structure's large triangular truss structure is left exposed, with curved, glass entrances to platforms, shops and other facilities framed by its structural curves.

Visitors can descend to the platform from the central space via stairs, escalators and elevators.

Sheltered beneath roofs extending from the central volume are seven passenger tracks, along with 29 bus stops and taxi stands complete with built-in wooden benches.

Meanwhile, below ground, two underground parking facilities are held alongside a 200-unit bike parking facility, which features large structural trusses reminiscent of the upper levels.

Other spaces include offices, back-of-house facilities for staff and a unit for a childcare facility.