IN SHORT
The Swiss Federal Railways commissioned the expansion and redefinition of an existing railway station in the heart of Zurich on Stadelhofen Square with a program calling for the accommodation of a third track and the creation of a commercial arcade. Calatrava's design encompasses not only the passenger platform and commercial arcade, but a canopied promenade, three contrasting bridges, stairs, elevators as well as the support of the power cables. In collaboration with Arnold Amsler and Werner Rüegger, the design competition for the expansion and redefinition of the existing Stadelhofen Station in Zurich's suburban rail network was Calatrava's first award-winning project.
In collaboration with Arnold Amsler and Werner Rüegger, the competition's initial design proposed access to the platforms through a sub-terranean passage, which can be reached only from the old station building.
To ease the passenger flow, this design was altered to provide stairs and escalators to each side of the old building. The station was thus transformed into a linear environment, where trains can be approached quickly from all directions. The need to close the station at night resulted in the development of hydraulically activated devices to shut the entrances and in some cases protecting it from the weather.