Berlin based photographer Roland Horn spent eight years recording the construction of the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The result: impressive photographs depicting the highly complex logistical and technical process that went into building Europe's biggest railway hub.
For all the engineers' highly advanced know-how, the workers' abilities were still crucial in realizing the mammoth project. That is why, in addition to highlighting the functional structure's cool aesthetics, Roland Horn's photograhic work focuses on the construction workers' arduous daily tasks. Structural metalworkers and industrial divers, concrete workers and welders, contrast vividly with the building's raw materials and its severe spacial structure.
In 1999 when I first took my camera to the construction site, I immediately realized what a gigantic undertaking the Berlin Hauptbahnhof was. It was not just a new building, but a central station built "from scratch" in the middle of a metropolis.
From that moment, I was gripped by the empty concrete-walled halls. The graphic shapes of the exposed ceilings had their own beauty - like cathedrals.
Through my photographs I want to express my enthusiasm and show the sheer amount of work that goes into a major project of this kind. And I want to convey how beautiful a building can be."
Roland Horn
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