BERLIN HAUPTBAHNHOF CENTRAL STATION
2006 was the year that saw the beginning of the largest crossing station in Europe; the Berlin Central Station. It is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany and Europe's largest two-level railway station. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof railway station destroyed during the Second World War.
In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.
The station is operated by DB Station and Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a category 1 station, one of 20 in Germany and three in Berlin, the others being Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.
A steel and glass construction covers the station concourse of the East-West line, and is transversed by two parallel architectonic crossbars, which frame the roofing of the lower-level North-South line. This delicate and transparent structure is an impressive example of contemporary railway architecture.
Overview
Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important East-West main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just North of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line.
This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn railway station. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.
In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick facades, and in keeping with the then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone facade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations."
The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the West, and a departure side on the East. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.
Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the East side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.
Design
The design called for traffic on five levels. The highest is the main deck, including two platforms, with the lowest comprising of four platforms 15 meters underground. New tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, Berlin's central park, form a new North-South line running to the Northern part of the ring around central Berlin.
The building’s work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-m-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree River had to be diverted .
Architecture
This modern crossing station in Europe effectively combines striking architecture with the mobility requirements of the 21st century. Every day, some 1,100 long-distance, regional and rapid transit trains call at the 14 platforms on two different levels.
The architecture is filigree and flooded with light, with arched structures across the Stadtbahn side that catch the eye. Covering a total area of 15,000 square meters, commercial space was created in the Berlin Hauptbahnhof for a business mix of shops, catering outlets and service facilities. Rental premises are available for a wide variety of services - ranging from car rental and hair stylists to postal services and travel agents. An approximate of 500,000 m³ of concrete and 85,000 tons of steel were used in construction.
On a total floor area of 70,000 square meters, Berlin Hauptbahnhof has 54 escalators and 49 lifts under a roof containing 2,700 m² of solar panel surface which is comprised of 1,250 modules. The upper level of the station has six tracks while the lower level has eight on the lower level .There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.
It has been a construction and logistics challenge since the foundation stone was laid in 1998. People are becoming more and more aware of stations due to increasing mobility in their working and private lives. 300,000 travelers and visitors daily use the shopping facilities at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, thus guaranteeing high attention and demand.
Direct integration into the shopping and catering areas ensures a high level of attention and constant demand. With modern rental premises of between 20 and 500 square meters in size, tenants can modify the interiors to create their own individual ambiance, allowing, for example, original and out-of-the ordinary catering concepts within a harmonised overall architectural concept. In addition to the excellent quality of the rental premises, all services are provided from a single source. All-round support and active presence result in focused synergies and special benefits for all tenants.
The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 meters by 120 meters, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.
The main concourse, supported by two towers, will provide roughly 44,000 m² of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by ropes at a rate of six m per hour; the remaining 20-mm gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.
PROJECT TEAM
Architect: Meinhard von Gerkan
Engineer : Jörg Schlaich/ East-West roof
Hegger + Partner H+P Ingenieure gmbh & Co.KG
Owner: Deutsche Bahn AG
Client : DB Projekt Verkehrsbau gmbh
Architecture: von Gerkan, Marg und Partner
Structural engineering : Schlaich, Bergermann und Partner sbp gmbh
Co-contractor : Bauer Spezialtiefbau gmbh
