Berlin, Germany
Led by Oliver Collignon and his design team at Collignon Architektur und Design, along with lighting designers Licht Kunst Licht AG., the new underground Subway Station Rotes Rathaus is a triumph of historic building fabric and functional aesthetics.
Rotes Rathaus Underground Station has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The new central station and the government district connects to the underground train network by an extension of the line U5 from Alexanderplatz.
In 2010, the underground remains of the ancient Gothic styled town hall was discovered prior to the current building designed by Hermann Friedrich Wacesemann was erected in 1861-1869.
To conserve it, it was then decided to preserve and incorporate the same into the architectural design.
After multiple revisions, Collignon’s design ultimately led to the development of a mushroom-shaped column structure mimicking the original ceiling vault.
The new station was designed in simple black and white colors, while polished terrazzo tiles provide an elegant appearance.
The staircases are kept in dark colors to create a certain drama, which results in a radiant reception flooded with light when entering the 140-meter-long station hall.
The combination of light and dark elements conveys an aesthetic impression, keeping it functional.
The glazed gallery connecting the two subway tracks further creates an open and bustling appearance of the station.
Thanks to its supporting structure consisting of giant, mushroom-like pillars that carry load in line with the principle of Gothic arches, the new Rotes Rathaus Berlin underground station has a pleasantly bright and transparent feel with its clear, open structures.
Another excellent architectural detail is how the pillars pick up on the form of the striking window arches of the town hall situated above the station, reinterpreting them in a modern manner and in this way creating an exciting reference that is also functionally grounded in the form of load transfer.
Licht Kunst Licht’s initial considerations of integrating lighting into the joints between the mushroom columns and the ceiling did not prove effective thereafter resulting in the minimal concept of functional downlighting, since the directional light onto the bright floor allowed a higher amount of reflection and uniformity.
Thus, by implementing a color temperature of 3,000 K, not only do the ceiling and walls appear bright and radiant, but also add a certain degree of brilliance and elegance that is unusual for transportation buildings.
The station is a convincing design right down to the smallest detail, which is clearly focused on the future in every respect but without denying history.
The final design is a fantastic synergy of space and light, created by a simple concept, giving the project that certain something.
The uncompromising implementation of visual stringency ultimately ensures that there is no doubt about its pure intention.
All in all, the subway station has not only gained great importance for the capital in terms of transportation but also represents an exemplary design in the cityscape’s aesthetics.
Project: Rotes Rathaus Underground Station
Architects: Collignon Architektur und Design GmbH
Lighting Designers: Licht Kunst Licht AG
Partners: BNB Beton-und Naturstein Babelsberg GmbH, Glasbau Gipser GmbH, and JanKo Metallbau GmbH
Client: Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG)
Photographers: Lukas Roth and Jan Bitter