Metro, Spain
23 juni 2022
Project: Metro Gran Vía, Madrid | Spain
Architect: Metro Madrid | Spain
Fabricator & Installer: Alfredo Valiente team | Spain
Façade System: Tray Panels Special Design
Year of Construction: 2021
Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS Skyalu Blue Metallic
Photos: Metro
HISTORIC RAILS
In Madrid, the metro which runs to all the tourist attractions, is an attraction itself. Hidden beneath the old town, the metro has developed into one of the largest and most modern underground rail networks in the world in just 100 years. Over the years, the city has dealt with the need to channel the rapidly growing population in suburbia swiftly through the conurbation in an eco-friendly way by taking prompt action to extend the network. Renovating many of the historic stations in the city centre, such as the Gran Vía, was part of the scheme. This station and, further south, Sol station are now Madrid's metro hubs. Every day, approximately 165,000 passengers travel through the station with an estimated 66,000 of them getting on, getting off or changing trains here. A new pedestrian tunnel connects both stations and makes changing easier. Juxtaposing historic and contemporary features is a typically Spanish and regarded as perfectly natural. For example, the architects created a neoclassical entrance pavilion, a replica of work by the famous Madrilenian master builder Antonio Palacios, for the Gran Vía station. Deep underground, however, the same station takes on a futuristic look: high-tech access barriers, a huge LED display, lots of stainless steel and wall surfaces made of blue metallic ALUCOBOND® tray panels. The panels are folded three-dimensionally into a prominent rhombus and illuminated to enhance and emphasise the surface structure. The rhombus is reminiscent of the old town location, set between the most important squares, the old centre of power and lively shopping streets. Not only here in the Gran Vía station, but also in the recently refurbished Seville station, the city has opted for wall surfaces made of ALUCOBOND®. They provide reliable protection against fire, smoke and vandalism, and can be customised to suit. In Madrid, the design often alludes to the respective location and significance of the underground station within the urban space. The Gran Vía Station, for example, displays archaeological finds discovered during construction work in showcases in the walls.