The shape of the station is replicated five times to the north, following the direction of the train tracks, and emphasizing the horizontality of the existing train platforms. By using the same dimensions, the experience of walking under the station can be replicated and the existing station is integrated. Also, by using the whole length of the platforms a horizontal public path is created, and the station becomes the entry to it. The constant rhythm of the placement brings a certain monumentality. And thanks to the free space between the volumes, the site doesn’t become a barrier. Three goals defined the functioning of the project and what it had to be. First, it has to be a public space and keep the public character. Therefore, the building is lifted and its footprint is reduced to a minimum. Second, it has to be an infrastructure space for mobility. A city will always need infrastructure. I decided to create a bike path in the central lane, where the train rails used to be. And the station, will now work as a bike station. Third, it has to be a transition space. A place of arrival and departure, showing constant movement. I decided to offer temporary social housing instead of regular housing, in order to avoid privatization of the space. There are 3 different floor plans, one for each age group, assuring that the building could be used by different users. It is no secret, that the brutalist aspect, the machine-like aspect, the monumentality, is a reference to the time when the Olympics took place and to other buildings of the complex. It is a reference to the abandoned train station itself. This project is an exercise of thinking how things could have been done better. An exercise of looking at the past when designing for the future, learning from it and preserving it. And an exercise of finding balance. Because the “Other city”, for me, is a balanced city. A city which thinks in everyone when it is expanding, even in those who have less. A city which gives value to its history, and won’t just erase it. And a city, which recognizes that the open free public space is just as important for its inhabitants as the private space.
