Liberec Regional Terminal – Architectural Competition

Site context

Liberec's main railway station has been in operation since 1859. The bus station lies four hundred metres away, its facilities housed in temporary construction modules since the 1990s. Transferring between train and bus still means crossing an area without shelter, wayfinding or services. The design brings both stations together into a single hub while offering a vision for the transformation of the wider surroundings.

Concept

The key to the design is the pixel. The smallest unit of spatial legibility: a modular element scalable in size and height that creates canopies, orientation points and spatial ensembles. It gains meaning through interconnection, where a diversity of scales and functions shapes a coherent whole.

Transport solution

At the centre is a new concourse adjoining the historic station building from the north. It sits at the hub's focal point and links all modes of transport: platforms are accessible directly from the hall, transfers to city transit are covered and short. The existing station building takes on a new role. The ground floor serves as the entrance to regional bus platforms, while the commercial frontage offers shops and dining. Long-distance services have a separate oval-shaped terminal to the north, beneath which sits an underground P+R car park. All through-traffic is routed behind the station building. The forecourt becomes a pedestrian zone with a new square, greenery and café terraces.

Connecting the city

On the western side of the tracks, the design opens a new entrance to the terminal on Na Františku street. For the first time, the city is fully connected across the rail corridor. Adjacent to the Skloexport building, a new residential complex emerges with an active ground floor and a passageway to the park. A park replaces the former bus station site. A mixed-use building on the newly formed square completes the space and balances the volume of Skloexport. The area takes on the character of an urban quarter where housing, services and transport meet naturally.