Eight months after its opening in October 2025, WaltherPark in Bozen has received a major international award. The German Good Mobility Council has honored the development with its Gold Certificate Certified Good Mobility the organization's highest seal of approval for sustainable mobility concepts in real estate development. It is the first award of this kind outside Germany and, at the same time, the first internationally certified building recognized by the Council.
The development designed by British star architect David Chipperfield is located directly at Bozen's main train station and encompasses a shopping mile with more than 80 stores, the Falkensteiner Hotel Bozen WaltherPark, office spaces, 110 apartments and a kindergarten. The ground floor also houses South Tyrol's first Esselunga supermarket and the Mercato Centrale with 23 food and beverage stands.
A car-free city square instead of a bus access road
At the heart of the award is the radical reorganization of traffic around Bozen's main train station. Where buses and cars once converged in a chaotic approach road, WaltherPark has created a car-free city squareconnecting the train station to the Waltherplatz, Bozen's central square, for the first time as a walkable route. A privately financed tunnel routes car and delivery traffic underground, providing noticeable relief to the historic city center.
The results of these interventions are impressive. Around 44 percent of all trips to WaltherPark are made by public transit cycling is the second major pillar, while the share of private motorized vehicle traffic stands at only around 20 percent. For a city of Bozen's size and location, these are remarkable figures.
What this means for Bozen and visitors
Those who visit Bozen in South Tyrol benefit directly from the new urban structure. The station boulevard has been converted into a pedestrian zone, the city park has become more accessible, and the route from the train station to the city center now runs without crossing heavily trafficked roads. The project has also closed a gap in the connection to the regional cycling networkwhich extends almost entirely at grade level all the way to Verona.
For travelers to Italy who use Bozen as a gateway to the south or as a starting point for the Dolomites, WaltherPark has become far more than a shopping center. The development is now the first thing visitors see arriving from the train station, and at the same time the link to the historic old town with its Lauben and squares.
