10-metre-high knot sculpture will adorn Berlin’s Central Bus Station

Officials said it perfectly described the station’s function as a place where different routes intertwine

Yesterday, local authorities in Berlin announced the winning project for the art competition during the re-design of the city’s Central Bus Station (ZOB). The design submitted by Michael Sailstorfer is called ‘Knotenpunkt’ (Knot Point) and it features a 10-metre-tall sculpture of a rope with a sailor’s knot.

According to the expert jury who picked out the winning plans, the knot design is a perfect representation of the central bus station’s function and it also carries a visual call back to another famous Berlin landmark - the Radio Tower.

Redesigning the capital’s inter-city transit hub

The art competition was launched by Berlin’s Senate Department of Culture as a part of the final stages of the redevelopment of the central bus station. The redevelopment focused on expanding capacity while conserving and promoting the unique character of the space.

During the third stage, the redevelopment calls for final works on the waiting hall at the end of 2022 and its consequent fitting with commercial spaces at the start of 2023.

The artistic competition, on the other hand, was closed and the Senate invited only ten artists. The idea behind it was to create a symbol for the Central Bus Station that can capture the location’s social, architectural and special character.

The jury voted unanimously in favour of the knot design because of its striking simplicity. According to a statement by the City, it perfectly captured the station’s function as a transport hub with intertwining routes all connecting at the same place. The construction of the avant-garde sculpture is estimated to cost just over 200,000 euros.