[OS] Some pictures I took last week from the construction site of the ~8.5 billion € project ‘Stuttgart 21’.

Starting with an architecture contest in 1994, the city of Stuttgart in south-west Germany sought to construct a modern central station which will also – combined with numerous new tunnel systems – cut down on travel time to and from the station quite significantly.

The winner of the concept, an architecture office based in Düsseldorf, designed the new station to be below ground, stating that the station will combine aesthetics and functionality 'without ever trying to become a rival to the Bonatz-Bau' (The old main station hall which is protected as a historical building, seen in photo no. 4). With a budget of ~10 billion €, Construction started in 2010 and is currently projected for initial operation in mid 2027. It is built approx. 36 feet/11 meters into the ground and will feature four track beds/eight tracks which have famously been titled as 'the only straight lines in the whole complex.' The won area above ground where the old station stood will be converted into a park as well as a new planned district.