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Along with engineers G.O.C. and Cabanelas Castelo Architects, Foster + Partners have won an international competition to design a new high-speed rail station in the city of Ourense in Galicia, located in northwestern Spain. The winning proposal integrates transport infrastructure with a new urban park, providing a large public space that will open up a series of pedestrian links to connect the districts divided by the track.
The high-speed AVE train station floats over the existing track level, a new bus station and parking area below. Perceived to be “discreet and transparent”, the station is protected by a sequence of lightweight roof canopies that rise above as an arc and provide shade to the plaza and park entrance. Glazed facades provide a visual connection through the station and to the mountain beyond.
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Spaces between each canopy become a glazed, linear opening, while the reflective underside of the roof lights up the platforms below with daylight.
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Pools and a network of formal pedestrian paths extend from the station plaza, mimicing the alignment of the tracks and connecting the streets of Barrio del Puente to Barrio Veintiuno.
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Nigel Dancey, senior partner at Foster + Partners states, “We are delighted to have been selected for our integrated design, which brings together high-speed rail and bus stations with a major new public space for the city. We look forward to working with ADIF and the City of Ourense as the project develops.”
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