Seven New Light Rail Stations in Karlsruhe
An Integrated Project to Redesign the Mobility System in the Town Center
allmannwappner
Like a fil rouge twisting below the urban ground, a sober yet impactive line connects seven new light railway stations in the center of Karlsruhe. The stations are part of a more extended project for transport reorganization in the city center, aimed at improving the functioning of the rail-tramway network, whose operation levels were close to congestion. The adopted strategy employed a combination of different design actions: realizing a tramway gallery and subsequently moving the preexisting stops underground; eliminating the tramway track, replacing it with a pedestrian area; creating a new tramway with an underpass below it. The architectural essentiality of the seven stops realized below the urban level produced a net contrast between the underground spaces and the pedestrian area above it, characterized by a high level of visual and auditive noise. Within them, architectural choices are integrated and coordinated with a lighting engineering project that strongly influences their perception and use.
