Central Bus Station in Pforzheim
- Burkhard Franke
The new central bus station in Pforzheim is situated immediately next to the main railway station, a fine listed building dating from the 1950s. In order not to eclipse the latter by creating a single large roof for the 30 bus bays, the city opted for a structure in three segments, basically trapezoidal on plan and with dynamically curved forms. To the rear, where the bus station adjoins the railway lines, the roofs are drawn down to the ground in the form of wall slabs that close off the space on one side, and provide protection against pressure waves and the noise of trains speeding by. The surfaces of the structures are finished with white rendering on curved baseboarding divided by expansion joints.
