Seeing the past in a new light: BURRI at Zurich Central Station

Anyone arriving in Zurich by train is immediately afforded the opportunity to marvel at one of the city's most impressive buildings, namely the central train station itself. Designed by Gottfried Semper in the neo-Renaissance style and built under the direction of Jakob Friedrich Wanner, it dates back to 1871. The station, Switzerland's largest and busiest, is a real gem – a historic symbol of dynamism and one that of course helps to link the city to the outside world. 

Every day, more than 400,000 travellers pass through its imposing halls, hurrying to and from platforms or spending time in its retail spaces and restaurants. In order to adapt to growing contemporary logistical demands while also making the building's architectural qualities tangible once again, it has been completely renovated for the first time in 150 years.

The project demanded the expertise not only of Swiss architecture office Aebi & Vincent but of course that of craftspeople and specialists from a variety of different disciplines, not least when it came to the renovation of the building's south wing, and its restoration to former glories.

One of the key partners involved here was Swiss firm BURRI, known for its expertise in the realisation of demanding and complex public spaces projects, particularly in relation to listed buildings. The company boasts over five generations of know-how and has proven itself over and over again a reliable partner on large-scale public projects, and a designer and developer of comprehensively holistic solutions.

In cooperation with lighting engineers firm vogtpartner, BURRI was awarded the contract for the technical development of new lighting solutions and its implementation – from the special customisation of the various luminaires and their multifaceted requirements and specifications to the sometimes complicated installation on site. Of course, it was not only necessary to meet the aesthetics demands in relation to the design and implementation of high-quality, long-lasting products, but also to keep costs and technical maintenance under control.

Today, the former inner courtyards are covered by cassette-like luminous ceilings that provide transparency and daylight, and whose colour can be adjusted thanks to LED technology. The generous arched windows facing Bahnhofstrasse once again allow plenty of light to stream into the south wing, which has now also been freed of fixtures. In addition, numerous pendant luminaires of different sizes illuminate the historic rooms. With their hand-blown lead glass cylinders, milled, high-gloss nickel-plated aluminium sockets and selected light sources, they combine authenticity and state-of-the-art technology to provide an atmosphere of simple elegance.

Each of the pendant luminaires has three different, specially developed light sources that can be individually controlled. The nostalgic lantern effect is created directly in the luminaire body itself, while an indirect spotlight illuminates the ceiling and a downward-facing light illuminates the floor – so as to meet the particular challenge of not generating any shadows from the interior light sources. 

In projects of this size and importance – and particularly ones involving a listed building – it is not uncommon for surprises to arise for which innovative solutions are needed, and the team at BURRI is used to dealing with such situations.

The company was responsible for the lighting of the main hall as well as the transversal hall, and successfully implemented these project phases prior to the renovation of the south wing. The HUB pendant luminaires for the main hall were custom-made and were required to meet a range of specific requirements, including in terms of high-performance lighting technology, robustness, maintenance efficiency and Pigeon protection.

Considerations around life cycle play an essential role in every BURRI concept and product. All its luminaires are designed so that they can be disassembled into their individual parts and rebuilt and retrofitted with new technologies as the need arises in the future. This long-lasting and sustainable approach has always been part of BURRI's DNA and the thing to which its independent ‘Life Cycle Care’ business division devotes its full attention.

The Zurich station project involved the convergence of a wide variety of topics and tasks for BURRI, and the successful outcome was achieved thanks to the diversity of expertise within its team. And that the coordination of all the different elements came together while rail operations continued as normal can also be considered something of a logistical masterpiece.

So whether arriving or departing, visitors should grab the opportunity to take a stroll through Zurich Central Station's refurbished halls, to enjoy the beauty of the architecture and the moment – a journey into the past and a departure into the future, all in one.

© Architonic

Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design.