AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Bicycle Parking Garage The Hague - AZ Awards

Winner: Experiential Graphic Design

People’s Choice: Experiential Graphic Design

AZ Awards 2021 Winner: Bicycle Parking Garage The Hague

Staking a commanding position at the heart of the city, The Hague Central railway station is a nexus of regional, local and intercity rail.

Year: 2021
Location: The Hague, the Netherlands
Firm: Silo, the Netherlands
Photos: Mike Bink
Category: Experiential Graphic Design

Staking a commanding position at the heart of the city, The Hague Central railway station is a nexus of regional, local and intercity rail. And, now that it has become home to a breathtaking and seamlessly functional 8,000-spot bike parking facility, it is truly intermodal.

Designed by local creative agency Silo and Delft-based architects Studio Marsman, the cyclists’ haven is a stark contrast to anonymous subterranean spaces. It may be underground, occupying the lower level of a new mixed-use development, but the ambiance is light, airy and delightfully experiential — thanks to its incredible graphic design.

“The graphics almost become kinetic.”

Paul Filek, AZ Awards 2021 Juror

Against a vivid white backdrop of high ceilings and crisp lighting, luminous glass walls frame the curving bicycle path with photographic decals that hint at The Hague’s urban landscape. This backlit glass cityscape unfolds like a skyline on the horizon, but at a walking pace, the details of the 1,040-square-metre graphic installation come to the fore: They are the unique architectural features of the Dutch royal city’s iconic buildings.

Pops of colour — in the form of bright blue directional markers and bursts of yellow and red — complement the monochromatic graphics. In all, the space injects subterranean infrastructure with both placemaking panache and ease of navigation. According to Silo, the various “visual interventions support the intuitive orientation, making it easier to find your bike at the end of the day.”