New Margarethen Bridge and platform access
Competition proposal for a historic station district reusing structures and preserving urban values
Dissing+Weitling and team StadtBahnhofBrücke propose to repurpose the listed SNCF platform hall in the competition Neue Margarethenbrücke und Perronzugang Margarethen. The project unites infrastructure with respect for cultural heritage, functionality, and urban identity.
- Location
- Basel, Schweiz
- Category
- Stations and Public Spaces, Transformations
- Year
- 2024 - 2025
- Status
- Competition
- Client
- StadtBahnhofBrücke
- Collaborators
- COWI UK / WaltGalmarini AG / Uniola AG (landskab) /Hosoya Schaefer Architects AG (byplan) / Kissling+Zbinden AG (byggefaseplanlægning) / Silke Langenberg / Reto Wasser (kulturarv)
Cultural and architectural history
Large parts of Basel’s railway station are classified with preservation objective A in ISOS and must be preserved in their entirety. The platform hall has exceptionally high cultural and architectural value and is therefore proposed to be carefully relocated to a new position, serving as a canopy for the future Margarethen Bridge.
With this, our proposal redefines the bridge as a hub for Basel SBB – with the hall as an arrival point, transition zone, and active element in the everyday urban space. The hall once again becomes a gateway to the west – now between the city, the suburbs, and Basel SBB’s railway landscape.
Hidden hall revealed
The passenger hall is lifted out of a relatively hidden location and highlighted as significant cultural heritage in a prominent position. By reusing the hall’s steel structure, the proposal also avoids the need for a new platform canopy, thereby reducing the project’s climate footprint and minimizing complex interventions in the protected facility.
It is a conscious step toward a circular building culture, where public infrastructures are further developed with care and humility toward what already exists. The cultural and historical value of the hall is respected and combined with the requirements of modern mobility.
Relocation of platform hall. Modular, robust, and long-term
The proposal elevates the Margarethen Bridge from being a purely functional infrastructure project to becoming an integrated urban architectural structure.
We envision the bridge as a green urban structure with recreational spaces, cycle paths, and access for pedestrians, trams, and trains. Rainwater collection, green roofs, and biodiverse planting contribute to an improved urban climate and reduced heat-island effect. At the same time, the solution is future-proof, with prefabricated and robust elements that can be adapted to future needs.A series of modular interventions – including bicycle parking on existing rooftops and adjustments to the Elsässertor façade – enable step-by-step transformations. The bridge is designed with future changes in mind, and the routing of installations can be adjusted to accommodate new track areas and traffic patterns.
The project proposal expresses holistic thinking, being both technical infrastructure and urban transformation at once – the vision of a sustainable step in the development of Basel as a mobility hub and station district.