Zollhallen Plaza

Zollhallen Plaza is a new counterpart for the historic customs hall which was restored in 2009. The plaza is a fine example of water sensitive urban design, as it is disconnected from the sewer system. Beautiful planters provide infiltration points, and subsurface gravel trenches with innovative in-built filter medium reduce the hydraulic overload on the sewer system. Indented plaza areas create a surface flood zone. No rain water is fed to the sewer system, instead the ground water table is recharged.

The design plays with the historic past of the site which was a rail yard. Timeless and multifunctional benches resemble railway ties, and old rail tracks are laid into the paving. A bright grove of cherry trees provides the perfect amount of shade, while the infiltration planters with perennials and ornamental grasses give an attractive softness.

All of the hardscape materials are high-quality demolition materials recycled from the old rail yard. This makes sense not just from a resource management point of view, but it also bring together the new clean modern design with the historic architecture of the customs hall.

This project was carried out by Atelier Dreiseitl, now member of the Ramboll Group.