Like many other European cities in the 19th century, during the years of the railway boom Stuttgart grew around its central station. With the city center already packed, today the train tracks have become a barrier between the East and North districts, making development plans challenging. In 1997, the proposal by Christoph Ingenhoven’s studio won the international competition called within the Stuttgart21 urban design project. The design foresees burying the tracks, extending the historic building of Paul Bonatz and F.E. Scholer, and connecting the city with Europe’s high-speed railway lines. After some controversy, the works began in 2010 and the inauguration is set for December 2025.

Once completed, the roof of the new station will become a completely pedestrian area that meets and extends the nearby Schlossgarten Park, connecting the new Rosenstein quarter with the heart of the historic city.

Both the train tracks and the new building are buried to avoid overshadowing the current station, the historic building designed by Paul Bonatz with Friedrich Eugen Scholer, and which will be retained as the main entrance hall.

The unique roof is a complex construction that works only under compression to reduce its thickness and the amount of steel needed; the 28 supports of anticlastic curved surfaces efficiently follow the course of the forces.

The building generates its own electricity, and this along with the passive strategies reduces energy consumption related to heating, cooling or ventilation, which will be supplied by underground water or the air currents from the tunnels.

The project’s main objective is to optimize the building processes and ensure they are efficient. This is achieved with a material-saving structure that reduces thicknesses and with reusable concrete formworks or prefabricated modular elements.

The shell roof – measuring 450 meters long by 80 meters wide –, the undulating pillars and the large striking skylights bring in a continuous light into the hall during the day, with control systems to filter daylight and favor ventilation.