Karlsruhe Subway Stations Designed by KIT Professor Ludwig Wappner Opened

On Saturday, December 11, 2021, after 17 years of planning and construction, the new underground stations in Karlsruhe, designed by Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten together with the light artist Ingo Mauer from Munich, were ceremoniously opened.

The planning and realization took place primarily from 2010 to 2021 and was able to enter into an advantageous liaison between teaching, research and practice with the appointment of Prof. Ludwig Wappner to the professorship for building construction at KIT in 2010.

With the realization of the Karlsruhe light rail tunnel, seven tram stops are now underground. The external conditions of their respective locations in the urban fabric are reflected in the different geometries. A uniform and restrained design of the interiors connects the underground structures to form a self-contained spatial sequence that contrasts with the visual and acoustic stimulus density in the squares and streets above.

An essential design element is the lighting concept designed by Ingo Maurer. Based on the necessary suspensions of the electrical overhead lines, a steel cable construction runs freely through the space. In an arrangement of three cables lying next to each other and two above each other, the light construction appears - depending on the axis of vision of the passengers - like subtly arranged notes of a symphony.