Young architects have designed a new look for the train station in the center of Brno

Source
Jan Tomandl

Publisher
ČTK
13.12.2011 21:05

Photo: Chybík + Krištof AA and Jan Vrbka

Brno - A group of young architects has designed a new look for the Brno railway station while maintaining its location in the center. They presented it as an alternative to the plans of the Brno city council for the relocation of the railway hub. According to the architects, who worked on an initiative from activists of the coalition "Station in the Center," the hub can be rebuilt more cheaply and effectively in its current location. The station, after modernization, would not have to create a barrier between the historic core and the future South Center of the city, the architects told reporters today.
    The team was led by Karel Havliš, head of one of the institutes at the Faculty of Architecture of Brno University of Technology. "Initially, we created various urban forms and visions of the South Center with an relocated station or an urban rapid transit. Eventually, we concluded that Brno urgently needs to reassess the idea of relocating the station at any point. This is a financially unrealistic vision. The proposed design shows what the station could look like in the center," Havliš stated. The young architects estimated the investment associated with the modernization of the station in its current location at ten billion crowns.
    The architects built upon a five-year-old urban study, according to which it is possible to keep the station in the center while also increasing its capacity and ensuring its permeability. According to the architects, the railway and the railway hub do not have to be a barrier, but rather an urban-forming element. "It is crucial that one can reach the other end of the historic center from the station in a quarter of an hour, as well as to the other side of the future South Center. It would be a huge loss to miss out on this advantage," said one of the authors of the proposal, Michal Krištof.
    According to the proposal, the new station hall would be built next to the existing station building and the functionalist post office on Nové sady street, directly below the Petrov hill with the cathedral. "That is why we proposed its roof as a light canopy with openings for views of the Petrov landmark, which will be possible to observe from the train and from all platforms. We anticipate that such a designed station would become one of the symbols of Brno," stated another architect, Jan Vrbka.
    The architects also addressed the future form of the South Center. Today, it is a sparsely built-up area to the south of the current station. The city leadership aims to revitalize the neighborhood by moving the station to its end, thereby smoothly connecting it with the center.
    However, according to the young architects, relocating the station is not a condition for revitalizing the neighborhood, and moreover, there will not be money for it. In the so-called South Center, they propose new residential and public buildings, a relaxation zone by the banks of the Svratka river, and roads for both the outer and inner city ring roads. According to them, the new station building should not be a barrier, but rather a public space and a natural connection between the two neighborhoods, for example, through three passageways with shopping galleries.
    The reconstruction of the railway hub is the largest construction project in Brno in recent decades; according to the city council's plans, it includes over 1,000 construction objects with a budget amounting to tens of billions of crowns. The first phase of constructing the new service station has already been completed. Part of the investment of 3.3 billion crowns included, for instance, a train washing facility.
    However, preparations for the main part of the construction are stalled due to court rulings, protests from activists, and especially due to a lack of funds. This year, the city council canceled the zoning decision on the main set of constructions and returned the matter to the Brno-Central building authority for new discussions. This was a response to the July decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, which upheld the appeal from the "Children of the Earth" due to the missing exception from the basic conditions for the protection of particularly protected species.

Young architects have designed a new look for the train station in the center of Brno

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