Do Rossio Station Masterplan, Lisbon
1993-1996
Do Rossio station is situated on the side of one of Lisbon's
distinctive hills in the Baixa valley, high above the central square
of Rossio.
The Do Rossio station area took shape in 1755, after an earthquake
had destroyed a large part of Lisbon and a grid of new streets was
laid out to form the modern city. The railway tunnel, opened in 1889,
and the station, with its span shed that draws parallels with London's
King's Cross, was designed by Jose Luis Monteiro in 1890. Improvements
to the station infrastructure in 1959 resulted in the building of a
transport interchange, used by about 250,000 passengers a day. The
Rossio metro station was opened in 1963.
In 1993 Caminhos de Ferro Portugues, the Portuguese national railway
authorities, commissioned Terry Farrell & Partners and Ideias do
Futuro, Lisbon to produce a masterplan for redeveloping the area around
Do Rossio station, a familiar part of Lisbon's townscape for
more than a century. The proposal to rationalize the lands adjacent
to the station and owned by the national railways organization provided
an opportunity to link the Baixa district to Do Rossio and beyond to
Bairro Alto. The intention was to restructure the area for the benefit
of both pedestrian and motorized traffic.
The commission, in several distinct phases, incorporated climatic,
economic and performance issues. The appraisal looked at the refurbishment
of land surrounding the station, including the improvements to Do Rossio
Station Square (the provision of lower-ground level parking and pedestrian
circulation links) and proposals for a mixed-use development relating
to the station. A new passenger circulation scheme was implemented
in the station building. In collaboration with the Lisbon-based Ideias
do Futuro, TFP undertook the design of new concourse and platform finishes,
combining new-build elements with existing interiors.
The existing station roof – designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel – was
re-clad and enlarged to cover platform extensions and connect the station
directly with the tunnelled-out mountainside. The roof extension had
to be sympathetic in scale and character with the existing roof, so
TFP designed it with a central curved vault made up of separate segments,
the geometry of which reflects the central arch in the existing roof's
end screen, its central axis and the tunnels.
The Rossio commission allowed TFP to implement a design that seamlessly
integrated the historic landmark station in its surroundings.
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