2024-03-08 10:34:25
The station in Budějovice is one of the most beautiful buildings on the Czech railway. It was created at the beginning of the 20th century and its neo-Renaissance style has not changed since then. In recent years, however, it has started to fall into disrepair. The facade was falling away, the interior was gone and overwhelmed by visual smog. The railway administration therefore had the building renovated and, after four years, opened it fully to passengers in February.
Only a few weeks after handing over the building to the owner, however, it became clear that the work was not yet finished. Not quite. In late February, the railway administration found it had to dig up new paving in front of the main entrance to fix the drain. The investor originally did not want to change the old pipes, expecting them to last longer. In addition, the electrical installation is being completed inside the building and the railway workers are looking for tenants for commercial premises.
The reconstruction was led by the A8000 studio. The architects tried to preserve period elements that are over a hundred years old. “Transport back then was of course different than today. Our goal was to transfer the listed building into the 21st century sensitively, but in such a way that it could fully satisfy the needs of today’s passengers,” explains studio manager Martin Krupauer, who is also in charge of preparations for the Vltava Philharmonic in Prague.
Part of the reconstruction was also the construction of a passage that connects the new entrance to the building from the north with the main check-in hall. This created a direct connection to Lannova třída, the main link between the railway station and the center of České Budějovice itself. In the future, passengers will find new shops, cafes and other services in the passage.
The interior of the entrance hall of the railway station in České Budějovice is more uniform in color and cleaner after the repair. | Photo: Ondřej Bouška
The interior has a visually cleaner impression. Not only the main architect Hana Chalupská, but also the manual of Veronika Rút, who is trying to cultivate public space, deserved it. Mainly thanks to him, there were fewer advertisements in the space. The railway administration hired the designer some time ago to develop a manual for cultivated railway stations. He recommends to the Railway Administration, for example, what the unification of banners, advertisements and the orientation system should look like. “The manual applies to the entire Railway Administration and contractors, that means for architects as well. Employees should take care of keeping the space clean in the long term,” explains Rút,
See the state of the building after the renovation and read the details.