Completion of the Hradec Králové main railway station area

CTU in Prague - Faculty of Civil Engineering

Project idea

The subject of this diploma thesis is a design of completion of railway station area of Hradec Králové main station. The main station is located in a part of town called Hradec Králové – Pražské předměstí. The building is located in area where are today's production and storage areas and buildings. From the eastern side of the building there is a railway line passing through Hradec Králové and the main building of the Hradec Králové Main Railway Station. The newly designed city district will surround the train station from the south and west. The architectural concept of the building is based on the character of the area proposed in the urban study of the pre-diploma project. It responds to the location within the territory as well as its surroundings and the perspective axis.

The second building of the main railway station and its pre-space and surroundings were proposed as part of the diploma thesis. The concept, shape and spatial arrangement of the object is based both on the urban plan of the pre-master project itself and on the other aspects. The layout of the building - footbridge - platform is based on existing conditions. The platform remained in it’s place, today's footbridge has been removed in the design and replaced by a new one that will create the shortest possible way for pedestrians and cyclists between important points of the area.

The newly designed railway station building was connected to the existing railway depot. The reason for the connection was both the unification of the railway buildings to each other and the fact of transforming the depot into a railway museum, which would make this object accessible to the other people. The ground plan of the building is inspired by the railway depot itself and its principle - all peripheral and inner bearing elements point to the center of the turntable. The peripheral and internal structures, or their axes, which accentuate the importance of the railway draw, also emerge from the center of the turntable in the newly designed station building.

The spatial shape of the building was inspired by rail traffic itself – it’s a dynamic traffic. Round shapes evoke dynamism and certain tension. At the same time, round shapes find inspiration even in the former railway halls - the railway station halls were very often rounded, for example semi-circular. The design works with this legacy of the former railway station halls, especially the conceptual design of the new platform roofing. However, the organic shape of the building's roofing was not only designed for these reasons. An important element was the effort to clearly distinguish between new and existing parts of the Central Station. The new building is not intended to compete with the original, but to complement it.

The elevation of the roof cladding in the fronts of the station, specifically from the railway station front and side to the railway and the existing building, was designed to support the idea of a sensory axis that leads from the imaginary center of gravity of the proposed area, through the building's pre-space, the station building itself and then to the existing building, while at the end of this axis is the dominant tower of the main station. These elevations through the glazed surfaces allow for a view from the parterre to the individual platforms.

Project description

The building serves as a station building with an airy and representative entrance hall, waiting areas for passengers and an information center with the possibility of selling tickets.

The building has two above-ground floors and one underground floor. In the underground floor there is an underground garage, which serves both visitors and passengers, and especially for the employees of the building. In addition, underground facilities include all technical facilities, such as boiler room and room with air handling units.

An airy and representative entrance hall was designed on the first floor. Furthermore, on the first floor there is already mentioned railway museum in the northern part, which is located in the draw area. In the newly designed northern part of the building, which replaced the technical background of the existing draw, an entrance hall, two-storey exhibition spaces, sanitary facilities and offices are designed. On the first floor there are also four business units, three units in the northern part and one in the southern part of the building. Between the three units in the northern part, a newspaper stand, bakery and flower shop is designed, and the southern business unit is designed as a market. The proposed types of shops covers the most used and necessary shops at the transport interchange. There are also facilities and toilets for employees.

The main access to the second floor is provided by escalators and a lift, which are both integrated into the hall. On the second floor there is an information center with the possibility of buying tickets, a café with its own facilities and toilets for visitors. Direct access to the footbridge leading to the platform and Riegrovo Square from the second floor.

In the immediate vicinity of the building a bus stop was designed for the shortest possible transfer between public transport and train. The bus stop is located under the roof cladding. There is a possibility of direct access to the footbridge over the railway.

Technical information

The building has two above-ground floors and one underground floor.

The main three materials used are concrete, glass, steel. The bearing system of the building is a reinforced concrete column with locally supported ceiling plates with mushroom heads. Reinforced concrete elements are created with visual concrete effect within the visual parts. The building's external cladding is largely solved using a glass-faced glass-facade system with triple glazing. The roof structure consists of a structural steel self-supporting structure, which carries out a roof cladding, which is partly glazed and partly solved by the aluminum roof panels.

Internal non-bearing walls are made of porous concrete blocks YTONG. Air exchange and cooling of the station space is ensured by air handling units. One unit provides air supply and treatment at the railway museum, the other unit provides air conditioning for the main hall itself. The air treatment is realized in the technical rooms in the underground floor.

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