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Architects: gmp Architects
- Area: 400000 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Schran Images
Text description provided by the architects. With the new Fengtai Station in Beijing, the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) have completed a complex transport building: in terms of square area, it is Asia’s largest railway station and the first railway station in China, which the tracks for high-speed trains are located above those for normal trains, which significantly reduces the footprint area of the station. Under its seemingly floating roof the new station – with two levels above ground and a floor area of almost 400,000 square meters – combines a system of different transport lines. Twelve tracks for the high-speed trains going north/south from Beijing to Hong Kong and from Zhangjiakou to Shanghai are located as terminus stations at the top level. The conventional railway lines with 20 tracks are at level 0, and two underground lines are at the level below. With these services, Fengtai Station will be an important new transport intersection and the largest of Beijing’s three intercity railway stations. At peak times it is expected that up to 20,000 passengers will use the station to arrive, depart or change trains.
Fengtai Station has been in existence since 1896 and is located at the 4th Ring Road to the southwest of the city center. After a competition in 2010, gmp and China Railway Design Corporation were commissioned the rebuilding the station; in 2016, the design was revised, and building work started in 2018. The construction period was only just over three years. The upgrade of Fengtai Station provides relief for Beijing’s other two large intercity stations, South Station and West Station, and improves connections between the suburbs and the city infrastructure, as well as benefiting Fengtai District.
With its colonnade-style facade and the high, naturally lit entrance hall, which – similar to an airport – also contains retail outlets in addition to the check-in and security zones, the station is an important new transport hub. The building has a symmetrical layout and is accessible from all sides. Travelers arriving from the city on foot can access the station from the north and south via two large public spaces. Motorized traffic approaches at the level above, from where there is access to the departure area with waiting zones, ticket counters, and shops.
An important element of the design concept was to bring in plenty of daylight to help travelers find their way through the building. Continuous roof lights in the 495-meter-long roof, as well as the glass facades, admit much natural light to the interior, some of which is conducted to the lower levels via sun tunnels. The roof has been fully fitted with solar modules that are designed to generate 7 million kilowatt hours of eco-power per year, supplying partly the station’s electricity requirement. The building was awarded the “China 3-Star Green Building” certification.
