Architectural highlight with beautifully shaped wall panels made of gray exposed concrete

The cross-border tramway line between Kehl in Baden-Württemberg and Strasbourg in France has a practical but also a great symbolic effect on European unification. The terminus at the 'Rathausplatz' in Kehl, inaugurated at the end of 2018, impresses with its unusual exposed concrete architecture.

Based on a design by the Berlin architectural office J. Mayer H., a total of four wall sections with two roofs were created in two separate constructions. Each of the buildings is assigned to a driving direction. Under the roofs, there are additional exposed concrete elements offering space for sitting.

The wall panels and the seating elements were manufactured by the Freiburg company Egenter in the precast concrete plant with Dyckerhoff CEM I 42.5 R from Göllheim. The aggregate used was regional Rhine sand and gravel (0-32 mm). The wall sections have a thickness of 35 cm, are 3.50 m high and have a width of 2.70 m. The seating elements are slightly thinner at 30 cm; they are 2.26 m high and 3.65 m wide. The construction was carried out in exposed concrete class SB3 - SB4 and exposure class XC4 respectively, the compressive strength is C 30/37.

The roof of the tram stop was concreted on site by the company Uhl from Hausach. At night and at dusk, the panels are effectively illuminated from below. Principal is the city of Kehl, the stop was completed in December 2018 and ceremoniously inaugurated.

Impressive architecture characterizes the international tram line also on the French side: Already in 2001, the Strasbourg terminus Hoenheim-Nord was built according to a design by Zaha Hadid.

(Pictures: Frank Dinger and City of Kehl)