gmp architekten: hangzhou south railway station

‘hangzhou south railway station’ by gmp architekten, hangzhou, china wide sweeping ramps guiding to the station entrances all images © gmp architects

german practice gmp architekten has been awarded first prize and the commission for the ‘hangzhou south railway station’, a new transportation facility in hangzhou, china which will become the third largest within the metropolis. south of the qiantang river, the project will convert and extend the existing station in the xiao shan district. upon a plinth of gray granite, a frame of white walls perforated with vertical slats enclose the waiting room. reflecting the local culture and the surrounding traditional buildings, the screen will reference chinese window shutters to introduce natural daylight for a memorable arrival and departure experience.

the 200 meter long by 18 meter tall concourse will feature free-spanning construction offering a column-free interior for uninterrupted daylight. escalators and elevators provide access to the seven platforms below grade. this project will join the recently completed and opened tianjin west railway station a high speed train which connects beijing and shanghai.

bird’s eye view of the south railway station

site plan

longitudinal section

cross section

project info:

competition: 2011 – 1st prize design: meinhard von gerkan and stephan schütz with stephan rewolle design team members: jiang linlin, zhang yingying, zhang xiaoguang client: ministry of railways gross floor area: 90,000 m² number of platforms: 7 number of tracks: 21 number of passengers/year from 2020: 4.5 million construction period: 2012-2014