A long, luminous, geometric box flies over Bologna and is the new high-speed station intended to give continuity to the horizontal nature of this particular city's horizontal architecture. The Bologna Central Station is the winning project for the design competition launched in 2008 by RFI - Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. The project was developed by Andrea Maffei Architects with Arata Isozaki & Associates. The morphology of the city around the existing station and the numerous facilities that have been proposed for the new design are part of a grander scheme to re-stitch the urban fabric along a division, between the old town to the south and the northern industrial areas of the Bolognina, that has defined the city for decades. The new concept for Bologna means to create a dialogue between the medieval and modern fabrics, yet still allow the architecture to be autonomous. The project hovers horizontally over the axis of the railway lines. To avoid a monolithic and invasive intervention, the building seems to create a dialogue between the surrounding architecture via differing degrees of transparency and opening. The competition asked for a structure that could incorporate activities well beyond those of a simple train station, thus the program was expanded to include commercial areas, a sports facility, restaurants, etc. The new station restructures this particular area of Bologna; creating a new hub of local activity, and not just a site in constant flux.
BOLOGNA STATION - credits project Bologna Station location Bologna program high-speed railway station client RFI – Rete Ferroviaria Italiana competition dates June 2007 – June 2008 architects Andrea Maffei and Arata Isozaki design team Takeshi Miura, Hidenari Arai, Ryousuke Kamano, Haruna Watanabe, Rawad Choubassi, Atsuko Suzuki, Seisuke Higaki, Simone Utzeri, Giuseppe Micale, Nakanishi Minori, Simona De Nicolais, Filippo Biagi / Andrea Maffei Architects, Stefano Tozzi / M+T & Partners structures Maurizio Teora (PD), Angelo Mussi (PM), Gabriele Del Mese, Luca Buzzoni, Francesco Uggetti, Giovanni Tecchio, Matteo Codignola, Salvatore Settecasi / Arup Italia s.r.l., Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd mechanical systems Pietro Guarisco, Enrico Zara, Alice Quinterio, Nicola Carofano, Alfonso Mastrodicasa / Arup Italia s.r.l., Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd fireproofing George Faller, Luis Mulinelli / Arup Italia s.r.l., Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd station layout traveler circulation: Leszek Dobrovolsky, Julie-Ann Janko / Arup Italia s.r.l., Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd security plans: Barbara Marino/ Arup Italia s.r.l., Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd construction plans Tom Honnywill / Arup Italia s.r.l., Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd computer graphics Miller Hare surfaces new station: 92,870 sqm. area “Bovi Campeggi”: 58,102 sqm. area “Ex Ie”: 6,710 sqm. area “ex-OMA”: 10,318 sqm. materials reinforced concrete, steel, glass
