Black, white and red. Simplicity, dynamism and functionality. And also: attention to detail rarely seen in railroad investments. This is how the Wolsztyn train station looks like after modernization by designers from the Poznan-based PL.architekci studio .
Wielkopolska's Wolsztyn is famous for its steam locomotive depot, which is still in operation, and numerous events featuring historic locomotives, which attract railroad enthusiasts not only from Poland, but all over the world. For years, however, the city could not boast a decent train station and transfer center. The old modernist building from 1957 (designed by Kazimierz Serowski) was in a deplorable condition.
photo: designer's archive
wolsztyn for the second time
The change came in 2017, when the Municipality of Wolsztyn announced an architectural competition for the expansion and modernization of the old edifice and the creation of an integrated communications center of urban and regional significance. In addition to functionality, prestige was not insignificant: the new investment was to serve "to promote the Wolsztyn Municipality and the Wolsztyn Steam Depot." Five teams took part in the competition. The winner was the PL.architekci studio from Poznań, known mainly for its interesting single-family houses, but which also has another successful Wolsztyn project to its credit: the Fala Park sports center on Lake Wolsztyn (2013).
The jury appreciated the boldness of the proposal, which combines the sparing modernist form of an old building with expressive shelter canopies and the ubiquitous contrast of black and red - a reference to the colors typical of old steam locomotives. Designers from PL.architekci proposed to "wrap" the old body of the station with shelter roofs covering platforms, bus parking stands and the station entrance area. Placed at different heights, they aimed not to overwhelm the building surrounded by them.
photo: Nate Cook
this is something not even the capital (province) has
Construction work began in the summer of 2019 and was completed in late autumn of 2020, when - during the second wave of the pandemic - the new transportation center began limited operations. The result can therefore be fully appreciated only now. The Wolsztyn investment is a carefully designed and executed facility, whose form and quality can be envied not only by many other cities of similar size, but also by the provincial capital itself. Poznań still doesn't have a real main station, and the district stations also look much worse than Wolsztyn's, or the station in Wągrowiec near Poznań (designed by Consultor, Chili), which was extended in a similarly successful manner several years earlier.
photo: Nate Cook
What determines such a favorable reception of the modernized station?
First of all, its consistent and crystallizing nature of its surroundings. In accordance with the designers' intentions, a distinctive object was created, which organized the amorphous space of Dworcowa Street with low and different quality buildings. The gravel parking lot on the south side of the station was replaced by bus stands. A substandard pavilion to the north gave way to a square. Wooden seats reminiscent of archetypal station benches, a bicycle shelter with a restroom and luggage room, and tree-planted flower pots on it provide a friendly link between the station and the city. The horizontal character of the whole is broken here by the dark dominance of the perpendicular and not very tall clock tower, which discreetly corresponds with the verticals of the slender black columns supporting the canopies and the equally dark vertical window divisions of the modernist building.
Photo: Nate Cook
Just as the designers wanted: despite the dynamic form of the roofs, the overall design does not dominate the neighborhood. Instead, the zigzags of the shelters lead the eye of a passerby or passenger towards the station. From the side of the bus stands it is a bit too "predatory" - it could be done here with a more modest composition of overlapping canopies, especially since the stairs and seats are formed in a similarly expressive way, intersecting with ramps that allow you to easily overcome the difference in levels within the station. The shape of the latter solution is reminiscent of the good and earlier by several years forms from the transfer center in Solec Kujawski (designed by Rysy Architects, Rafał Sieraczyński).
local ambition
The second advantage is the apt choice of materials used, the quality of workmanship and attention to detail, which - in the case of railroad projects - are often treated in a low light.
- We took great care toremove all kinds of power boxes and other infrastructural equipment from sight. We also made sure that not a single inspection manhole was visible in the platform area," comments the project's co-author, Bartek Bajon of PL.architekci. He is also very pleased with the careful and "clean" development of the shelters: slender columns and canopies made of trapezoidal sheet metal. - This is also due to local contractors. You can see that they cared a lot about enriching the city with a high-quality facility.
Finally, the third asset: a sensible approach to "steam locomotive" symbolism. The reference to the colors of locomotives is clear, but not intrusive. From the perspective of the street, the contrast of black and red is not conspicuous. Black, gray and white dominate. The latter color is clearly distinguished by the walls of the old station building. Red is mainly the "underbelly" of the tin shelters, noticeable all the more strongly the more you enter the station's perimeter. Indeed, the same color is also used for the ceilings in the modernized building, lamp shades, seats and flower pots in the ticket hall. Here, too, there is room for a somewhat more literal reference to tradition: large-format photos of locomotives and station buildings, as well as some original signal lamps.
photo: Nate Cook
conservator without conservatism
The result is all the more impressive when one realizes the difficulties faced by the designers and investors.
- This was an operation at the intersection of land and the authority of the municipality and the railroad, open and closed trenches, often with a status that was not fully regulated. Thus, we owe a lot to the provincial authorities, among others, who helped unravel certain complexities," Bajon reports.
He also can't praise the experienced Leszczyn historic preservationist, who was said to have taken an enthusiastic approach to the bold treatment of the station's old body. The architect also emphasizes the relation of the effect to the relatively modest budget of about 13 million zlotys. He also appreciates the fast pace of implementation:15 months.
Now in front of the Wolsztyn station is a much longer period of operation (not only for passengers, as there is also a restaurant and a community cinema) which will show how the railroad building, which is occasionally aired by the heavy smoke of historic steam locomotives, will age.
