The escalator leads down into a spacious, light grey room. The wall surfaces are made of rough, stocked concrete. Except for a few signposts and ticket machines, the room is empty, uneven lighting provides some variety. The voices of excited primary school children can only be heard muffled as they walk by. On a second, deeper level, the ceilings, walls and floor are smooth and white, the whole room is brightly lit. Here, too, there are only necessary things, advertising posters or kiosks as at large stations in other cities are not to be found here. Only the timetables, for example, and the name sign of the stop. "Market Square" stands large on both sides of the platforms. It is one of seven underground stations of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn that went into operation last year.

Sara Wagener

Volunteer

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These stations are characterized by the fact that they offer passengers a space of contemplation in the midst of the hustle and bustle that prevails even on a weekday afternoon in Karlsruhe's city center. On Kaiserstraße, the central shopping mile, passers-by hurry over the old tram tracks, which have not been used since the opening of underground stations. Others rush accompanied by the noise of several construction sites from shop branches. The escalator ride down to one of the new underground stations seems like the transition to a soothing quiet zone.

No frills

It was designed by architect Ludwig Wappner and his Munich-based office allmannwappner. He reports that the freedom in design was limited by statics, technology and a planning approval procedure – like in a "corset". The allmannwappner team decided to focus entirely on accentuating what was given, i.e. "just refining" the work of the engineers and the materials. Thus, the intermediate levels with exits to the tracks not only get by without cladding the walls, other decorations were also omitted.

This attitude also meant that the seven stations were designed largely uniformly; strong visual recognition features, such as those used elsewhere to facilitate orientation for passengers, have been omitted. This design "from a single source" works in Karlsruhe with its small number of underground stations. The tunnelling of the inner city was highly controversial; It was not until 2002 that the people of Karlsruhe accepted a combined solution consisting of underground and above-ground stations as well as a car tunnel to relieve the inner city of traffic. An extension of the underground line is not planned.

People like to wait

A closer look reveals that behind the supposed simplicity in appearance is a sophisticated artistic idea. All stations are characterized by Ingo Maurer's light installations. At planned intervals, neon tube-like light sticks illuminate the entire station. As Wappner reports, they are intended to remind us of musical notations. Their wiring is interwoven with the overhead lines of the tram, picking them up visually and thus emphasizing a special feature of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn: The underground stops are only a short section in the route, the power supply is therefore not, as is often the case with subways, via the rails. The bright illumination leads to a good overview of the entire station and thus to a feeling of security. Although stops are transit places, people in Karlsruhe like to wait until the next train arrives. Maurer has inserted small gimmicks into the functional-artistic illumination: three luminaires cast red, green and blue light onto the floor, where the colours combine to form a white cone of light. When someone moves through the beam, bright spectral colors are created on the clothing. Again and again, children can be observed who pass the waiting time for the train.

The light installations as well as the entire track level can also be observed from the mezzanine level through large window panes. From this perspective, the association with a painting exhibited in the museum is not far. The enclosing walls act like a picture frame that stages the exhibition of sustainable, public and community transport. People and mobility are thus at the centre of the design.

Allmannwappner has succeeded in something extraordinary, which at the same time is extremely contemporary. They have found a design for the sustainable mobility of public transport that creates a feeling of security and tranquility and thus ensures the joy of being on the move. This is not without risk: The years will show whether the users handle the bright materials carefully and maintain their effect. In the best case, the welcoming, tidy and consumer-free atmosphere will prove to be sustainable in the comprehensive sense. This could and should set a precedent in other cities.