Zurich Main Station

ZURICH MAIN STATION

With half a million travellers per day, the main station is the largest railroad station in Switzerland.

To find an adequate lighting concept for the listed above-ground station area, an international lighting design competition was tendered. vogtpartner won 1st place with its “City Lights” concept and was allowed to realize the project.



PLATFORM HALL

The lighting concept focuses on the needs of the various station users, helps travellers to find their way quickly and makes people feel comfortable in the station.

An important part of the concept was the collaboration with the heritage conservation authorities, who were heavily involved in the approval process for the detailed lighting design of the 150-year-old railway station.

vogtpartner developed luminaires that fulfil both the aesthetic and complex technical lighting requirements and meet the high SBB specifications in terms of maintenance and sustainability.

‘Strings of pearls’ consisting of floating lanterns emphasise the course of the platforms. In addition to norm compliant illumination and easy accessibility, their design accentuates the steel structure.



TRANSVERSE AND MAIN HALL

The new lighting design of the two halls is primarily intended to bring some calm to the challenging

perception of the spaces. The aim is to improve the overview and legibility of important information. The glare-free luminaires are also fitted with a simple lampshade, which is colour-coordinated with the hall roof and thereby plays the luminaire into the background.



SOUTH BUILDING

The lighting design in the historically rich architecture of the south wing takes up the element of the light cylinder (which is already expressed in the original luminaires) and marries this with valuable Art Deco elements to create pendant luminaires that do justice to the interior architecture.

The lighting technology of the high-quality glass cylinders with integrated downlights creates attractive lighting moods, as the diffuse light emitted by the luminaires provides a calm illumination of the room, while the directed light creates deliberately placed accents on the floor, giving the rooms a clear focus of light.