The conversion of Salzburg Central Station from a railway terminal to a station for through traffic was planned not just to create an efficient transport node for some 25,000 passengers. The convincing integration of the original load-bearing structure of the station hall and the restoration of the entrance concourse achieve an eloquent synthesis of historical building and modern architecture that complies with present-day needs. Beneath the railway lines, forming a new link between areas of the city on both sides of the station and providing access to the platforms, is a spacious shopping mall with broad apertures at the top. As one walks through this public pedestrian zone, openings between the platforms allow views up to the transparent areas of the roof over the station hall. There, dynamically shaped lightweight structures, covered largely with membrane roofing and cushions as well as glass, have been combined with the slender historical structure to create a new type of station hall that is filled with light. Above all, though, with the surprising spatial dimension that was achieved by linking the platform level with the shopping mall – transport needs with the urban environment – Salzburg lends new impetus to station construction in Europe and elsewhere.