25 Years of Winning the Stuttgart Central Station Competition

On 4 November 1997, exactly 25 years ago, ingenhoven associates won the international competition for the conversion and new construction of the central train station in Stuttgart. In a two-stage process followed by a revision phase, the 32-member jury selected the project unanimously from 126 submitted entries.

In 2016, the foundation stone was finally laid for the new station concourse. Since then, nearly all of the 28 elegant chalice-like supports have been cast in concrete, and the dynamic space with its beautiful, uniquely shaped roof can be experienced more and more clearly. The new structure’s forms efficiently follow the exact path of the forces, resulting in a material-saving design. Despite its span of some 35 metres, the concrete shell is only 40 centimetres thick. The engineering technology used here is unique in the world.

The Stuttgart-Ulm railway expansion is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe. The future main station forms the core of the Stuttgart 21 transport and urban development project. The light-flooded, eight-track underground through station will replace the previous 16-track terminus station when it opens. Dismantling the above-ground rail facilities in the city centre freed up new areas for development. After more than 150 years, the districts of Stuttgart East and Stuttgart North, which were previously separated by the tracks, will be reconnected. The Stuttgart Central Station will begin operations in December 2025.