Munich’s U5 underground line is being extended from Laimer Platz to Pasing; the first new station, ‘Baumschule Laim’, is located at the junction of Willibaldstraße and Gotthardstraße in the Laim district. The station is characterised by its unique location; it sits next to Europe’s largest municipal tree nursery, which has been in existence for over 80 years and serves as a haven of tranquillity in the heart of the city.
The tree nursery is distinguished by its wide variety of tree species and biodiversity. It shapes the locality through its vast fields of neat rows of various young trees, connected by avenues of large trees. The cultivation of hardy climate-adapted trees for Munich’s urban green spaces is also already an important and integral part of the work – the Laim Tree Nursery is a genius loci, a narrative of the architectural design.
The typically clearly structured rows of young trees are central to the concept. On the way to the railway level, one first enters the distribution levels via one of the four entrances; their colour scheme is inspired by the leaves of the young trees. Towards the basement, the green fades and transforms into a warm grey. The wall cladding consists of high-quality ceramic tiles with gently undulating grooves, reminiscent of the rows of trees in the nursery when viewed from a bird’s-eye perspective.
The ceilings of the east and west mezzanine levels are clad in lightweight, staggered metal panels. Between them, spotlights – like sunlight filtering through foliage – provide even and pleasant lighting. On the west mezzanine level, a walkway leads to the lift, offering a view of the platform and the underground tunnel.
Whilst the design on the distribution level subtly evokes the narrative of the tree nursery and its structures, the platform presents itself as a large, bright space featuring a realistic representation of the tree nursery, which extends three-dimensionally across the walls and ceiling as a glaze on the raw exposed concrete surface. Rows of trees line the path, whilst scenic lighting from simple, elegant and unobtrusive luminaires ensures even illumination and a natural atmosphere.
The space-defining concrete walls of the tunnel in which the platform is located remain clearly recognisable thanks to the chosen wall design. The station is experienced as a spacious, bright hall, and the motif creates the surreal impression of standing amidst the trees of the tree nursery.
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