Achau Train Station

New Language for Infrastructure. The Achau Train Station is a pivotal stop along the Pottendorfer Line, the rail line connecting the center of Vienna to its rural periphery, linking this Southern route of the Austrian Railway to the Adriatic-Baltic corridor. The new station is a multi-modal, barrier-free mobility hub, with train platforms elevated above ground level and a generously dimensioned cycling and pedestrian throughway below, fluidly interconnected with the town of Achau and fully accessible, including access to a covered bus station, Park & Ride, and Bike & Ride facilities. The train platforms are rooved and equipped with glass-clad, transparent waiting nodes underneath. Stretched rectangular window bands reveal a visual connection between the town and the station, with the flow of departure and arrival at full display, and offer an unobstructed view over the flat, vast countryside from Southeast to Northwest. A prominent architectural characteristic of the station is the sand-blasted surface of its dominant exposed colored concrete, which shimmers of quartz, rose and orange tones at various times of the day. Integration, homogeneity, formal clarity, and the creation of open visual perspectives are the main design principles, which provide an urban yet sustainable dimension, offering new meaning to public space in complex mobility interchanges.