Rolf Mühlethaler Architekten . photos: © Gian Giovanoli
Preda Station, a key stop on the Rhaetian Railway’s Albula Line, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was fitted with new wooden platform roofs as part of a comprehensive modernization project.
The supporting structure of the new roofs is made of glued laminated timber and consists of slab supports, a lattice framework as a flat supporting structure, and roof wings designed as horizontal slabs. The roof rests on pairs of wooden slabs, which perform both a load-bearing and space-defining function. The acting forces are channeled through these slabs into the massive structure of the ramps and the underpass, whose visible surfaces were clad with natural stone.
With a roof length of 61 meters and a width of 6.90 and 8.80 meters, respectively, the new platform roofs are designed to meet the requirements of modern train lengths and provide ample space for passenger transport, particularly for winter sports enthusiasts with sleds and other equipment. The construction combines aesthetic lightness with technical precision, meeting the stringent requirements for weather resistance and sustainability in high-alpine regions, a dialogue between traditional architecture and modern engineering.·
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