Students of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Arts in Poznań have won an honorable mention in the international NapoliCall competition for a project to adapt the ruins of the Bayard train station. Alicja Maculewicz and Emilia Dziagelewska proposed a green tourist center on the site of the old Neapolitan station.
new life for the former train station
The subject of the competition was the Bayard train station, completed in 1839. It was Italy's first railroad connection reaching from Naples to the town of Portici. Today its building is abandoned, and vegetation completely covers the structure. The competition aimed to transform the building into a facility with service and tourism functions. According to the guidelines, the new building should relate to the past and fit in with its surroundings.
The project is a green spot on the plan of Naples
© Alicja Maculewicz, Emilia Dzięgelewska
greenery giving shelter
The authors of the awarded project titled "Implant" decided to leave the greenery that surrounds the ruins of the Bayard train station. As they state:
The only large green spaces near the Bayard station are the Capodimonte hill and the botanical garden, which are, however, two to three kilometers away from the projected site. This puts tourists traveling from Porta Nolana station and local residents in a difficult situation, without access to the greenery so important in Naples' hot climate.
The authors have added new buildings to the existing Bayard station
© Alicja Maculewicz, Emilia Dzięgelewska
The building designed by Alicja Maculewicz and Emilia Dzięgelewska offers shelter in the shade of luscious greenery. Vegetation forms clumps that enclose the entire complex.
green implant in Naples
The project includes the preservation and restoration of Bayard Station and the addition of new buildings. All buildings of the complex on the +1 level are connected by a raster platform, facilitating communication. Thanks to the platform, the visitor center also opens up to a view of Vesuvius, which is difficult to see due to Naples' dense buildings. In the future, the platform will be covered with vegetation - thus becoming a green spot on the city map.
The view from the platform opens up to Vesuvius
© Alicja Maculewicz, Emilia Dzięgelewska
The inner courtyard is open. A slit in the building's longitudinal mass allows communication from Garibaldi Street and Porta Nolana station. New green blocks rise on the tuff ruins of the old station and become a natural backdrop for the restored complex.
The platform connects all the facilities of the complex
© Alicja Maculewicz, Emilia Dzięgelewska
sightseeing at a higher level
The authors' goal was to create a new dimension of sightseeing. It makes it possible to walk between the historic buildings not only at ground level, but also between the facades at level +1. In the elongated block, the designers included a place for the Bayard station's memorial chamber. This allows residents and travelers to learn what Naples' first train station looked like in its heyday.
See also other projects by Alicja Maculrwicz and Emilia Dziagelewska: a dormitory in Genoa, a housing development in Tallinn.
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illustrations courtesy of Alicja Maculewicz and Emilia Dzięgelewska
