The first great railway stations were the cathedrals of modernity, generous public rooms that gave a new age its form. Göteborg Grand Central, designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter AS sets out to recover that ambition, but in service of green mobility rather than industrial optimism: a place that is both passage and destination, infrastructure and city. And it is no longer a render. The building has entered its final construction phase, its facade of 650.000 reclaimed bricks, taken from demolished buildings on Funen and in Jutland and laid by hand, now standing as a civic frontage in the city.
With much of the scaffolding down, the full station hall has been revealed for the first time: a daylit public room carried by concrete arches and a large timber structure, folding cafés, shops and around 800 workplaces into and above the tracks, crowned by a 200 metre roof promenade planted with 54 species. Built to a 200 year standard and targeting BREEAM Outstanding, it opens as the northern gateway to Västlänken’s new underground Station Centralen in December 2026, with offices following through 2027.
Project team: Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter. Client: Jernhusen AB. Contractor: Peab.
Image: Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter.
