CASUA from Prague, a company of the OBERMEYER Group, has participated in the architectural competition “New railway terminal Jihlava”.

OBERMEYER Infrastructure, in particular the Institute for Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering, provided technical advice to the Czech colleagues and supported them with the design planning. The core of the competition was the terminal of the high-speed railway line (VRT) Prague-Brno with traffic development and new bridge construction.

The VRT transfer station and the local railway form a compact linear unit that blends into the landscape panorama of the Vyšočina Plateau. The architectural solution is based on the rationality of the overall concept of the operational solution. The main and only pylon of the bridge, 100 metres above the ground, symbolises the needle that gave Jihlava its name.

The overpass spans the railway station terminal, the multi-storey car park and the bus station. The terminal connects various forms of local transport – rail, bus, cycle paths – with the high-speed railway line. This is connected to the existing road situation via a new link road. All modes of transport are directly connected to the entrance hall of the terminal.

Everything is realised in basic materials that correspond to the structural character of the building. The purely constructive character of the building is only complemented by a climbing greenery along the façade of the built-in car park. The building is thus integrated into the surrounding nature, as it extends the local biotope and the minimal built-up area with unspoilt nature.

The concept is based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) calculation of the building’s life cycle, the reduction of the carbon footprint and the principle of passive house solutions. The building utilises renewable energy sources, rainwater harvesting and the concept of blue-green infrastructure.