Hamburg, Munich and, of course, Stuttgart – new stations are being built in all of these cities. In this issue, we discuss the interior and exterior design of these major projects and want to know: What does a train station have to achieve today?
The theme of the G+L November issue is train stations. Cover: © ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
"It's now a good thing to complain about Deutsche Bahn..."
As far as Deutsche Bahn is concerned, I have a now highly unpopular opinion. – I am a big fan. Seriously. I love traveling by train, I love train stations, I love DB mobil – and I also find most train attendants quite likeable. I’ve had to justify this position again and again for a few years now. I’ve noticed that it’s now quite common to complain about Deutsche Bahn. I, on the other hand, can no longer listen to the eternal gossip about delays and the tirades about the railroads’ misconduct. It’s annoying. And it’s not very constructive. Especially when we so urgently need to make progress on the transport transition.
Large projects, timid communication
So you won’t read any scathing criticism of Deutsche Bahn in this issue, yes. At the same time, I have to admit that this issue has also cost us a lot of nerves in the editorial department. Because as exciting as DB’s current large-scale conversion projects are (and will be), all the players involved are timid and cautious in their communication. You can really tell that the protests and the media scandal surrounding the major infrastructure projects of the recent past, such as Stuttgart 21 or BER, have left their mark – and Deutsche Bahn enjoys a great deal of authority when it comes to its public image. You don’t want to make a mess of it.
The DB, planning offices and responsible city planning authorities
And yet in this issue, we put our finger on acute wounds in our discussions with Deutsche Bahn, the planning offices commissioned and the responsible city planning councillors. We talked to Munich’s city planning councillor Elisabeth Merk about why conversion measures are so visitor-unfriendly, we spoke to Hamburg’s senior building director Franz-Josef Höing about the limits of public participation, and we asked Oliver Hasenkamp from DB what he, as an architect and head of project development, can do about the delays.
Five tasks of the century in various stages
This issue focuses on the central station projects in Duisburg, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Ulm. All five are mammoth projects, real tasks of the century in various stages, which are being created by the hands (and minds) of very many people. It is important not to say yes and amen to everything, definitely, but also to show appreciation for what is being done every day for the stations of our future.
The magazine is available here in the store.
The last issue of G+L was all about competitions. Read more in the editorial.
In line with the theme of railroad stations, our colleagues from Baumeister take a trip on the Orient Express to seven special destinations in the November issue. Read all about it here.