Four teams advanced to the finals of the competition for the new train station in Brno

Brno – The jury of the international competition for the design of the new main train station in Brno selected four teams from 12 for the finals. Their task will be to elaborate the designs in greater detail, the spokesperson of the Brno City Architect's Office, Jana Běhalová, stated in a press release today. The teams are also required to produce a physical model of the station and its surroundings. The names of the four participants will be announced in the summer, when the winner will also be clear.

The competition began last August. There have been several competitions in the past for a new station in Brno. The director of the Brno City Architect's Office believes that this competition will be the last and will lead to the construction of the station. Leading global and Czech architectural firms with extensive experience participated in the competition, so the competition was indeed very strong.

The city is collaborating with the Railway Administration on the competition. "It's not just about the design of the station itself, but also the solution of the surrounding public spaces and the integration of the entire building into the emerging new district of Trnitá. We expect that the winner of the competition will participate in the preparation of project documentation for both the Railway Administration and the city of Brno," said the deputy mayor, Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL).

A total of twelve teams participated in the first round of the international competition for the new main train station. Three were directly invited by the organizers, while another nine were selected by the expert jury from 46 submitted applications and architects' portfolios. Among them were, for example, the authors of stations in Vienna, Berlin, Rotterdam, The Hague, Bologna, London, or Birmingham, as well as the creators of the High Line park and The Shed art center in New York. "The task of the competitors was to design the station building, including its roofing and the shape of the platforms, the layout of the internal spaces, and the positioning of the main departure hall, as well as a complete solution for the surrounding public spaces, including buildings for administration, housing, and public amenities. It also includes the solution for a bus station, a public transport terminal, or pedestrian connections," said Brno councilor Filip Chvátal (KDU-ČSL).

The new station will be located by the river on the site of the current lower station. Currently, the main Brno station is in the city center. The location of the station was decided by city and regional representatives in 2018. The construction is estimated to cost several tens of billions of crowns.