Winning Design for Copenhagen’s Køge North Train Station is a Spectacular Tubular Bridge

The winning design for the <a href="http://cobe.dk/project/koge-north-station#0" target="_blank">Køge North Station</a>, a new high speed transit hub outside of Copenhagen, was just awarded to the design team of <a href="http://cobe.dk/" target="_blank">COBE</a>, <a href="http://dw.dk/" target="_blank">DISSING+WEITLING</a> and <a href="http://www.cowi.com/menu/home/Pages/cowi-group.aspx" target="_blank">COWI</a>. Tubular in design, the station crosses over railway tracks as well as a busy motorway and doubles as a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/pedestrian-bridge" target="_blank">pedestrian bridge</a> for the town of Køge. The combo bridge and station offers views to the north, a warm wood-lined interior and protection from the sun. When complete in 2018, the unique station will act as a local landmark and a very critical transit hub for the entire region.

The Køge Bay Motorway is the busiest highway in Denmark and leads into Copenhagen alongside a track for local trains. Soon a new double-track high-speed rail line will offer commuters and travelers a more efficient means to get in and out of the city.

To accommodate the new high-speed trains the region needed a new transit station and the winner of the international design competition was just announced.

Danish firm, <a href="http://cobe.dk/" target="_blank">COBE</a>, in collaboration with <a href="http://dw.dk/" target="_blank">DISSING+WEITLING</a> and <a href="http://www.cowi.com/menu/home/Pages/cowi-group.aspx" target="_blank">COWI</a>, came up with the winning plan to combine pedestrian-friendly amenities with a green park and easy access to public transit.

The 225-meter-long tubular bridge is clad on the exterior with <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/prefab" target="_blank">prefabricated</a> steel plates matching the materials of the surrounding infrastructure system.

Inside pedestrians are greeted with warm wooden lamellae, views to the north, public seating and rest areas. The inside is protected from the sun by closing off the south-facing exterior.

Construction is set to begin in 2016 and finish in 2017, to be operational with the new rail line in 2018.

“We have designed a symbol of the development that the City of Køge is currently undergoing – a development characterised by innovation, pioneering spirit and audacity," says Dan Stubbergaard, Founder and Creative Director at <a href="http://cobe.dk/project/koge-north-station#0" target="_blank">COBE</a>. "This development will be reflected and materialised in the bridge and the surrounding park and ride facility that besides being the traffic junction of the region, also will be a distinctive landmark for the area and a symbol of Denmark’s strive towards a sustainable future.”

Cut away view of tubular pedestrian bridge and train station.

Cross section of the new Køge North Station.

North elevation of the new Køge North Station

Site plan for new Koge North Station in Denmark.