Over the last 4 years, a molehill has gradually been taking shape in the north of the Bavarian city of Nuremberg. The molehill, so named by disgruntled neighbouring residents, is the new Kaulbachplatz underground station. One of several new stations to serve the new U3 underground transport extension, this is undoubtedly the most interesting building form taking shape in this normally architecturally conservative city for years.
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| Juxtaposition of the Bionik form against Jugendstil |
The molehill (Maulwurf), designed by local architects Haid + Partner, is a smooth concrete and glass form with oval glass 'fish eye' windows. Located in a residential area rich in Jugendstil, the architects looked to 'Bionik' (Natural Biological) architecture for inspiration. No doubt the architects also wished to play with the brief after their more common or garden but tastefully modern Maxfeld station was completed in 2008.
Ironically the Molehill's critics cite the surrounding architecture as grounds for their dislike of the 'ugly' station entrances, wishing instead to have a cheaper simpler flat roofed station entrance. This is particularly strange as one of the leaders of the 500 strong call to arms is themselves an architect and should therefore maybe recognise that Bionik architecture is arguably the rightful heir of the Jugendstil, being as it is, inspired by flowing plant and other natural forms.
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| Rear view of main entrance |
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| View of entrance and lift building |
The 2 main station entrances which run down the centre of Schweppermannstraße are formed by 2 parallel smooth shuttered titan-oxide pigmented concrete fins, spanned by laminated and cross tensioned glass struts which support the 70cm wide by 4.45m glazed roof panels. Elliptical openings were formed in the water tight concrete and filled with frameless laminated glass.
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| Glass struts and angled window reveals |
Internally the green natural stone stair and escalators are to be framed by opaque glass walls and ceiling leading down to the platforms, where, sandwiched between the structural lattice of the white concrete tunnel walls, there is to be artwork from the station's namesake, and former director of the Munich school of Art (which also carries his name) Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1805 - 1874).
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| Lift building front |
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| Lift building rear |
Although the station has not yet opened, details such as the externally expressed roller shutter and the angled cuts of the oval windows, mean that the design is in my opinion already a successful addition to the cityscape. The only visible disappointment thus far is the separate lift building, which uses the same organic language as the main entrances, but unsuccessfully attempts to shoe-horn an inherently rectilinear shape into a curve. The resultant form looks stumpy and odd with none of the elegance of the Jugendstil. Obviously a round lift would be prohibitively expensive, but even just using the same design language in a more understated manner (curved edges rather than completely curved) would have been less jarring in the overall composition.
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| Roller shutter expressed externally |
Work on the €3 million station began in 2007 and the station is scheduled to open later this year.
Key facts:
Project name: U-Bahnhof Kaulbachplatz, Nürnberg
Architects: Haid + Partner
Client: Stadt Nürnberg (City of Nuremberg)
Start on site: 2007
Completion date: 2011
Gross floor area: 1,723m²
Gross Volume: 12,792m³
Length: 424m
Depth: 8m
Total building cost: €3 million
Sources:
http://www.nordbayern.de/
http://haid-architekten.de/
