The Need
Tel Aviv University Train Station, ranked third in Israel in passenger volume, required adaptation to meet present and future needs. The upgrade focuses on enhancing the passenger experience, improving safety, and strengthening the station’s integration with its urban surroundings.
The Vision
To create a significant urban landmark that connects seamlessly to its wider environment and to the future transportation hub planned in the area.
The design preserves the unique iconic character of the original structure while expanding it into a contemporary architectural language that engages with the various urban interfaces surrounding the station.
The Design
The project was divided into work packages and planned in parallel with construction, coordinated with railway operational windows and traffic arrangements along the Ayalon highways.
Platform level and roofing interventions include extensive new canopy coverage—providing shade over 80% of the platform length. Materials and colors were selected to match the existing roof, while the geometry introduces a renewed interpretation of the original design: a continuous wave replacing the historic sequence of barrel vaults. Shading performance was further improved through the addition of vertical side louvers aligned against the sun’s angle.
The platforms were extended to approximately 355 meters to accommodate new electric trainsets, as part of the national platform-extension program.
Safety and passenger-flow improvements include new emergency exits meeting fire regulations and the addition of an elevated concourse above the narrow existing platforms to better manage and disperse crowds.
Urban connections and station expansion were addressed through a transparent, orthogonal glass volume that resolves the geometric encounter between the curved station and the angular light-rail bridge. Above this volume, the roof element rises continuously from the platforms to form the station’s upper canopy, avoiding the creation of an additional competing mass. The glass volume is wrapped in aluminum louvers that connect visually both to the station’s roof and to the adjacent light-rail façades.
