Jihlava railway station

In 2017, the Czech government approved the high-speed rail (HSR) development programme, which includes the construction of several new stations along the Prague-Brno-Ostrava HSR line. Between Prague and Brno, the Czech rail network operator, Sprava zeleznic, is therefore developing the European lines of the future Berlin-Vienna TGV and the Munich-Warsaw rail axis with the Jihlava station project. The Jihlava terminal, located on the outskirts of the city at the heart of a complex infrastructure network and a rich natural landscape, will serve as a hub between the high-speed line, public transport in the Vysocina region and car transport.

The terminal is frugal and minimalist, designed to keep its environmental footprint to a minimum while offering the best possible conditions for future users. Its architecture is both sober and expressive, a landmark in the landscape that adapts to the topography of the site and uses existing infrastructure to limit the need for additional buildings. This post-carbon station is designed to adapt to the local climate, incorporating bioclimatic methods (greenhouse effect in winter, natural lighting, through-ventilation, protective devices, etc.), passive architecture, a photovoltaic roof, the use of biosourced and geosourced materials and the reuse of excavated earth (50,000 m3).

A light ribbon that glistens in the sunlight and slips between the trees at the edge of the forest – that’s the image of this new TGV station at the gateway to the city of Jihlava. This hub will serve all forms of mobility – gradually phasing out the use of fossil fuels – and will be close to local residents, reversible, renaturalised and preserved.

A canopy forming a large ribbon of wooden structure (covered in zinc) cuts across the landscape and picks up passengers on a forest forecourt, guiding them intuitively towards the platforms. The sight of the many infrastructures in place – railway viaduct, motorway, factory, high-voltage power line – will fade in the face of the architectural staging of this poetic and landscaped route, which will allow passengers to pick up the train in the forest. Although the existing infrastructure is complex, our design response to provide easy access and an obvious route is logical and effective.

The ribbon, like a large gallery, will accompany passengers from the bus and car descent to the platforms, passing through the station’s interchange hall, housed under the high-speed line’s railway viaduct. The station has a vast concourse (2,000 m2), open on all four sides and positioned slightly above the conventional tracks and the landscape. The forecourt and station are positioned at an intermediate level, between the high level of the viaduct and the low level of the conventional line. All you have to do to get to the trains is go down or up one level. Following the same principle of inhabited infrastructure, bus, car, bicycle and taxi intermodality will be at the same level as the station’s concourse.