The competition for the new Brno main train station was won by the Dutch Benthem Crouwel

The decision is made – the new main railway station in Brno will be built according to the design of the Dutch studio Benthem Crouwel Architects, known for projects such as the station in Rotterdam and the reconstruction and extension of the station in Amsterdam. According to the winners, the Brno station will become a new gateway to the city and a positive impulse for the emerging neighborhood of Trnitá on the banks of the Svratka River. Residents of Brno will gain a modern transfer hub and a guarantee of further development of the local railway transport. The selection by the expert jury, which included architect Eva Jiřičná and urban planner Peter Gero, was confirmed this week by the city leadership and the Railway Administration. The Office of the City Architect of Brno, as the organizer of the competition, will exhibit all designs, including a large model of the new neighborhood in the Cross Hall of the Brno New Town Hall at the end of September.

Award-winning main railway stations in the Dutch cities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, or The Hague are all connected by the authorship name of the studio Benthem Crouwel Architects. “The authors of the winning proposal will oversee the quality processing of project documentation for the new building. They will ensure that after completion, the new station will not only be a source of pride for South Moravia but also a place that travelers will truly enjoy using. The current completion forecast for the new main railway station is set for the years 2032 to 2035, by which time part of the new neighborhood Trnitá will also be completed,” says Mojmír Nejezchleb, Deputy General Director for Railway Modernization from the Railway Administration.

Seamless integration into the urban network and enhancement of public life in the new neighborhood, comfortable and easy use with excellent transfer options, and a representative building that strengthens the identity of the city of Brno. This is how the winners of the international competition from the studio Benthem Crouwel Architects envision the new main station in Brno.

“According to the jury, the winning design combines a reference to historical public buildings with a modern transfer hub and high-quality public space. It emphasizes the genius loci of Brno and carefully considers the practical functioning of the new station building and its surroundings,” adds city architect Michal Sedláček, who also served on the expert jury. “During the competition, we also recommended further elaboration of certain parts of the proposal, so the final result will better meet the current strict requirements for the new station building,” he adds.

“I am very pleased with the cooperation between the city of Brno and the Railway Administration on this key project,” appreciates the mayor of the city of Brno Markéta Vaňková, emphasizing: “The modernized heart of the Brno railway hub in the new location by the Svratka River will significantly influence the further development of the city. By simplifying the railway network, barriers will be removed, freeing up extensive areas in the city center for parks, recreation, and larger residential construction. The historic railway viaduct will become a promenade between the city center and the transformed waterfront. The new station will be surrounded on both sides by quality public space, connected to the city center by a new boulevard lined with trees and a tram line.”

Further benefits are highlighted by 1st Deputy Mayor Petr Hladík: “One of the goals of the new station is to allow for quick transfers between rail, bus, and urban public transport at one location. This includes favorable conditions for integrating lines of the planned high-speed railway towards Prague, Ostrava, and Vienna. Comfort for pedestrians and cyclists, travelers, and new neighbors of the station building is also essential.”

The Brno railway hub is already inadequate in both capacity and technology, and its modernization is necessary. Without it, Brno would be stuck in the late 20th century, which saw the last significant change with the construction of the freight bypass. Brno has been prepared multiple times for the construction of a new station in a relocated position, but plans have repeatedly been halted by unfavorable circumstances from the Great Depression through World War II to the occupation in 1968. “Demands for railway transport are significantly different now than they were 180 years ago. Therefore, Brno deserves to invest in its future, and the results of the international competition presented today confirm that the city will gain the most modern railway station in Europe,” said Deputy Mayor Tomáš Koláčný.

The new main station is the most vital component of the modernization of the Brno railway hub. Its location by the river was preferred by the Central Commission of the Ministry of Transport on May 30, 2018. Earlier in the same year, the city and regional representatives decided on it. Currently, the modernization of the Brno-Židenice station is underway, which will be moved closer to the urban public transport, as well as the creation of a new terminal in the Brno Černovice area on Olomoucká Street.

“The international urban-transport-architectural competition for the design of the new main railway station in Brno was announced on August 31, 2020, and the jury decided on the winning proposals at a two-day meeting on July 1 and 2, 2021. It was the largest architectural competition in Czech history, in which contestants were tasked with designing the station building, including a complete solution for adjacent public spaces, buildings for administration, housing, and public amenities, a bus terminal, an urban public transport terminal, and pedestrian connections,” recalled councilor for urban planning and development Filip Chvátal.

It was a two-phase, narrower project competition for a design. A total of twelve teams participated in the first phase. Three were invited directly, and the remaining nine were selected by the expert jury from 46 submitted applications and portfolios of architects. Among them were, for instance, the authors of stations in Vienna, Berlin, Rotterdam, The Hague, Bologna, London, or Birmingham. In the first phase, twelve competitors further developed their proposals. Four of them were selected for the second phase of the competition, where participants detailed their designs. The organizer of the competition was the Office of the City Architect of Brno, with the city of Brno and the Railway Administration as joint clients.

The public will be able to view all designs from both phases of the competition at the exhibition in the Cross Hall of the Brno New Town Hall. The opening ceremony with the winning team will take place on September 30, 2021. A large model of the new neighborhood Trnitá, which the expert jury used during its evaluation, will also be presented. Competition models of individual teams with proposed buildings and associated public spaces were inserted directly into the model.

New Main Railway Station Brno – International Urban-Transport-Architectural Two-Phase Narrow Project Competition for Design:

1st Prize (6,000,000 CZK + compensations 2,500,000 CZK)
Benthem Crouwel International B.V.
Daniel Jongtien, Martin Biewenga, and Jan Benthem

2nd Prize (5,000,000 CZK + compensations 2,500,000 CZK)
Association Pelčák and partners architects – Müller Reimann Architekten

3rd Prize (4,000,000 CZK + compensations 2,500,000 CZK)
ingenhoven architects GmbH, Burian-Křivinka Architectural Office, architects Koleček-Jura

4th Prize (2,500,000 CZK + compensations 2,500,000 CZK)
BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group + A8000 s.r.o.

All proposals can be found at www.kambrno.cz/novenadrazi