Hamburg’s main station is getting a glass hall

The expansion of Hamburg’s main train station has taken a decisive step forward: the jury has chosen the designs of bof Architekten from Hamburg with the landscape architects hutterreimann from Berlin as the winner of the urban planning competition for the expansion of Hamburg’s main train station and development of its surroundings. The design convinced the 23 jury members from politics, urban planning and architecture as well as from Deutsche Bahn with a glass hall on the south side of the station.

Hauptbahnhof-Visualisierung-Hachmannplatz

Hauptbahnhof Visualisierung Hachmannplatz © bof architekten & hutterreimann landschaftsarchitektur

According to the jury, this hall offers a contemporary continuation of the listed station hall. The large form of the existing building is taken up and the surrounding urban spaces are developed in a differentiated manner. The jury’s decision was also influenced by feedback from the people of Hamburg: both before the first and second jury meetings, they were able to provide feedback on the designs at public exhibitions of the competition entries at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe.

Hamburg’s main station is getting a glass hall

Clarity and visibility are the design-determining factors. In its current state, Hamburg’s main train station appears congested and confusing. By deconstructing all annexes, the main station is brought as close as possible to its original state and complemented by a clear, coherent addition. In addition, an addition is developed from the cubature of the station, which opens generously to Hachmannplatz and thus conclusively connects the quarter and the station. The station as an entrance to the city receives the appropriate generosity, clarity and visibility both internally and externally.

The design that has now been selected is to form the basis of a master plan for the expansion of the main station and the development of its surroundings. In addition to the traffic capacity of the station, urban planning and architectural aspects are just as important as the careful handling of the listed building of the main station, the design of the open spaces and the networking with the surrounding neighborhoods.

Hauptbahnhof Visualisierung Kommunaltrasse

Hauptbahnhof Visualisierung Kommunaltrasse © bof architekten & hutterreimann landschaftsarchitektur

With around 550,000 passengers, Hamburg’s central station is the second busiest station in Europe. Up to 750,000 passengers are expected in the future as a result of the expansion of the rail network for local and long-distance traffic. In addition to fundamental modernization, the expansion of the station is intended to create the basis for this.

Jury selects winning design of the competition

A total of 60 offices and consortiums submitted entries in the competition. Thirty participants submitted their initial designs in June 2021, from which the jury selected eight offices for a second stage of processing at its meeting in August 2021. Seven offices finally submitted their designs, which were presented to the jury at the jury meeting on December 6.

In January, the results of the competition will be presented once again in an exhibition at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. In parallel, further preparation of the planning services will be carried out by means of subsoil investigations, as-built data acquisition and 3D modeling.

Hauptbahnhof Visualisierung Passage Modul C

Hauptbahnhof Visualisierung Passage Modul C © bof architekten & hutterreimann landschaftsarchitektur

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