Calatrava’s Stadelhofen Station

Calatrava’s Stadelhofen Station

This incredible train station in Zurich by legendary architect Santiago Calatrava is extremely expressive of structural forces- both straining to support the weight of the hill it’s embedded in, and stretching it out to act as a shelter for the station. In perfect equilibrium, the structure is partially supported by a curve in plan, and by slender tension rods which seem to hold the building down rather than hold it up.

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Calatrava has designed a number of amazing train stations, and I’ve been lucky enough to visit ones in Liege, Valencia, and Lisbon.

Images by Jonathan Choe