City-Nord Subway Station, Hamburg

The construction of the new Metro Line 5 in Hamburg is Germany’s largest transportation infrastructure project. At the City Nord station, the consistent application of the 30 x 30 cm grid pattern creates a formal order throughout the space and, together with the primary color blue, lends it a sense of calm and elegance. From an economic perspective as well, the use of standard formats and the simultaneous reduction of custom formats are desirable. The flower of the plane tree was chosen as the individual motif for the ceiling. The plane tree is the signature tree species of City Nord, and thus the ceiling motif establishes a connection to the surrounding area. Through graphic abstraction, it was translated into a perforated grid, giving it the character of a modern ornament. The anthracite-colored mastic asphalt floor serves as a counterpoint to the backlit perforated pattern on the ceiling, which also has an anthracite-colored background. These two dark zones are set off by the white ceramic facade tiles on the walls. The design incorporates a modular principle capable of accommodating both analog and digital display media—thus, the vision for the future has already been considered and incorporated into the present.