In Progress: Fővám tér Station / Spora Architects

Budapest’s new metro line includes ten stations and will connect South Budapest to the center city. Located on the Danube river and currently under construction, Fővám tér Station is part of the first phase of this project. Only a complex structural system could fulfil the requirements emerging from the proximity of the Danube and the given construction site. For that reason, Fővám tér Station station is composed of a cut-and-cover box and tunnels. The complexity of the structure is driven by the need for a new tunnels for the tramline and pedestrians. This new underground station will become a gateway to the historic downtown of Budapest.

Renderings, drawings, and photographs following the break.

Architects: Spora Architects Ltd
Location: Quay of River Danube, Budapest, Hungary
Lead Designers: Tibor Dékány, Sándor Finta, Ádám Hatvani, Orsolya Vadász
Project Team: Zsuzsa Balogh, Attilla Korompay, Bence Várhidi, Noémi Soltész, András Jánosi, Diána Molnár
General Design: Palatium Studió Kft
Project Area: 7,100 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2012
Photographs: Tamás Bujnovszky

rendering

The station is divided into two main stuctural parts as well as two building methods. There is a box structure built through an open pit from the surface. Work pits are supported by slurry or pile walls. The other part of the station is under an exisisting building, and is built using NAT methods.

The box is supported by three levels of reinforced concrete beams, the structure of which will be similar to a net. The layers of this network sustain the walls of the box like a bone-structure.

section

The tunnels also have a curved cross section. The walls and the columns will be covered with printed ceramic tiles. The design of this artwork will reflect the Zsolnay ceramics of the Gellért hotel, located near the site.

Due to the construction technology, huge rooms have been created in the inner spaces of the stations. The section of the space is proportional to a cross section of an average street in Budapest, built in the eclectic period in the 19th century. Therefore, the station can be interpreted as an inverse street or square under the surface.

platform plan

Playing with natural light has been an important aspect in the architectural formation of the entire line. The design focus was to incorporate the light to showcase the underground architectural form. On the surface, a huge pedestrian square is planned. This will allow for the necessary skylights, which will let the sunlight reach the platform level, emphasizing the unique character of the beam network.