We designed the roofing over all the platforms at Pardubice main railway station.
We designed the canopies covering all the platforms at the main railway station in Pardubice.
One of the five largest railway stations in the country has undergone extensive reconstruction. This also affects the station building itself, a national cultural monument and one of the most significant post-war Functionalist buildings in the country.
We were entrusted with the task of designing the canopies over the platforms — four of which are original, while the existing station will be extended with a fifth. The quality of the reconstruction is overseen by the son of one of the three original architects of the station, the eminent architect Miroslav Řepa. Together with heritage conservationists, he places great emphasis on approaching the building with respect and preserving its original character as much as possible. We see every project of ours in context, and in Pardubice that's doubly true. An awareness of the station's historical transformations and the period context of other transport infrastructure buildings, the connection to the new bus station, an understanding of the significance of colour within the setting — these are the foundations from which the shape and visual design of the new canopies grew. Thanks to this, we quickly found common ground with the contractors and the project's guarantors, and the result is a canopy that retains the original HEB profile of the supporting columns while cleaning up the form by removing the trapezoidal sheeting and exposed drainage and cabling. These will now be fully integrated and concealed within a partial soffit. The subtlety and clean lines of the form are a legacy of the original structures. New technologies that allow for this clarity of form will also ensure that the view of the station building, the area's dominant landmark, isn't disrupted by roofs with complicated forms.
On the first platform, which adjoins the station building, a new glazed strip will appear, significantly brightening the space of this platform.
Pardubice station is a reminder of the days when transport infrastructure was designed as architecture, not just as technical buildings. For thirty years now, we've been working to see these buildings once again receive the attention they deserve. They're here for all of us, and they have the potential to make our lives more pleasant — or less so.
