Übergangsräume

Bus stops on the city motorway, that sounds paradoxical. After all, the motorway is actually the place where the separation of means of transport becomes perfect, where traffic should be able to flow unhindered and where pedestrians in particular have no access. The curiosity originated in West Berlin in the 1950s: motorway bus lines with 13 stops on the new city motorway. Including bus lanes, bus shelters, staircases. The idea was to share the transport euphoria with all citizens, Michnik and Nowack write. But the vision did not last long. A few years after completion, the first stops were no longer in use. Their structures, however, remain along the urban motorway to this day – deconstructed, converted or empty. Almost invisible. This book is the first to examine the design, history and potential of these overlooked infrastructure spaces, highlighting their unique function as connecting buildings between the city and the urban motorway.