Santiago Calatrava 1989

Some Santiago Calatrava buildings are worth traveling across the continent to visit. The station hall at Lucerne is not one of them, but you may visit it without any detour if arriving by train for Jean Nouvel's neighboring Culture and Congress Center.

The starting point for Calatrava's hall was an unappealing terminal building designed by Amman and Bauman in 1975. Calatrava's addition is in three levels - a subterranean shopping area, the street level atrium, and a restaurant above. Calatrava has created a new portico 109 meters long, with a suspended glazed roof between the new and original facades.

Simon Glynn 2001 (updated 2004)

How to visit

Swiss Railways operates services to Lucerne station. While there, see also the neighboring Calatrava canopy on the PTT Postal Center and Jean Nouvel's Culture and Congress Center across the street.

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