Penzel Valier

Description

The external appearance of the Bern tram depot is characterised by the lightness of the glass and aluminium shell. With its simple form, it was possible to accommodate both the internal demands regarding economy and organisation as well as the external constraints of the narrow, oblique perimeter and to translate them into a concise form without any supports. In the 2007 competition, the expansion of the tram depot was already envisaged in three stages. With the constant growth of the city of Bern’s tram network and new, longer trams, the need for depot capacity increased. Ten years after the completion of the first stage, the depot was expanded from 7 to a total of 15 tracks, and the spans in the storage area were maximised from 45 to 72 metres and in the workshop area from 68 to 95 metres. These considerable dimensions for the column-free expansion of the tram parking facility are achieved by extending the truss girders, which work on the principle of crane booms. The main forces are absorbed by a middle row of supports, and the façade supports of the previously shorter span change from compression to tension members as they expand. The roofing is supported over the entire length of the hall, around 200 metres, by a shed roof structure made of steel trusses. The lifting gates on the front façade, with module heights of up to 10 metres, open and close vertically.