‘tianjin west railway station’ by gmp architekten, tianjin, china broad open-air steps lead to the southern forecourt image © christian gahl all images courtesy of gmp architekten

construction for the ‘tianjin west railway station’ by hamburg-based gmp architekten has recently completed in tianjin, china. positioned 130 kilometers southwest of beijing, this hub will become a new stop on the high speed line between the capital city and shanghai in addition to providing connections to the regional and underground networks. the structure will facilitate a commercial area to the north and an original city center to the south, bridging and unifying the encompassing urban context.

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station terminal concourse image © christian gahl

two points of entry evoke a large scale gate, framed with arched windows above the entrances. connecting each end of the station, a central spine formed with an extensive 57 meter high and 400 meter long barrel vault roof defines the main terminal concourse. supported with a steel diagrid, the glazed panels flood the interior with abundant natural daylight while solar radiation is blocked with an additional structural tier which is interwoven to generate a dynamic appearance. a series of arcades protect the tracks which meet the building along the east and west elevation, perpendicularly to the main concourse. passengers descend to the platforms below grade via a series of escalators.

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station daylight fills the concourse image © christian gahl

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station view of concourse from mezzanine image © christian gahl

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station barrel vault roof image © christian gahl

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station escalators leading to platforms below grade image © christian gahl

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station arcade protecting platforms image © christian gahl

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station view while approaching on train image © christian gahl

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station elevation image © gmp

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station section image © gmp

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station section image © gmp

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station site plan image © gmp

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station floor plan / level 0 image © gmp

gmp architekten: tianjin west railway station floor plan / level -1 image © gmp

project info:

competition: 2007 – 1st prize design: meinhard von gerkan and stephan schütz with stephan rewolle project leader: jiang lin lin design team, phase 1: iris belle, shi liang, du peng, chunsong dong design team, phase 2: nicolas pomränke, jochen sültrup, clemens ahlgrimm, christian dorndorf, bernd gotthardt, clemens kampermann, kian lian, sabine stage, cai wei design team, phase 3: sebastian linnack, thomas schubert, zheng shan shan detailed design team, phase 4 dong shu ying, sebastian linack, thomas schubert, zheng shan shan structural engineers: schlaich bergermann und partner chinese partner practice: tsdi client: tianjin ministry of railway gross floor area: 179,000 m² number of platforms: 24 construction period: 2009–2011