Västerås Travel Center, Sweden
Architecture firm BIG has updated its plans for a transport hub in Sweden. BIG first revealed a preliminary plan for the site in 2015. Key to the updated design is a more distinctive, flowing roof that extends beyond the edges of the 17,000-square-metre building to invite people in from multiple points. The shape is similar to a billowing sail or a sheet attached to a line at multiple points. Construction on the hub is slated to begin in 2022 in Västerås and should be completed in 2025.
BIG envisions the Västerås Travel Center as a hub that brings together all of the city's transport infrastructure under one roof and in one continuous landscape. The building will serve as the central station for trains and buses while providing a bridge between the city center and the nearby Lake Mälaren — areas currently divided by train tracks. The Västerås Travel Center will be wrapped in a curved, glazed facade that increases the connection between indoors and outdoors.
The project features a building with a dramatically sweeping roof. A zigzag line cut in the roof will give the ceiling a draped look even though it is clad in solid, smoothly curved timber slats. The zigzag is also an important structural element, eliminating the need for interior pillars that would obstruct people's movement. As well as doubling the size of the current bus terminal, the hub will have a bicycle garage, travel services, commercial areas, restaurants, offices, event areas and exhibition spaces.
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