In 2004 the City of Naples commissioned several internationally renowned architects, such as Sir Norman Foster, Massimiliano Fuksas, Alvaro Siza, Domenique Perault, Karim Rashid and Benedetta Tagliabue to build a train station for the city’s new metropolitan line. Using the triple A – art, architecture and archaeology – as the motto and driving force behind the project, the intervention aimed to give a highly recognizable identity to the formerly homogeneous setting. The winning design by Barcelona-based studio Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT – is a work of art that’s inviting and vibrant, matching its dynamic context.
Through their design of this subway and train station ‘Centro Direzionale di Napoli’, the architects generated new correlations between the city’s natural volcanic ground and the original 1970’s design of the artificial site by Kenzo Tange. The new station, with its underground link to the city, transforms the area’s artificial surface into a complex topography with many different levels for pedestrians and an outstanding building with an intricate tectonic roof structure. Diverse public space also allows a physical reception of the city’s present and past and charts the topographical movements and dynamics of the local population.
Wood as main material
The Naples Underground Central Station had originally been built on an urban grid designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange as part of an upgrade of the city’s infrastructure. Kenzo Tange designed the Centro Direzionale and built a city very much in his own style, with reflective skyscrapers, a 1970s piazza, which did not work because it is so different from the rest of Naples. One of the first decisions made by Tagliabue and her team was to build the station with wood to create an organic contrast with the 1970s neighborhood.
The design of the new station was inspired by older areas of Naples. Today, it is a place where there are many offices and commercial spaces, but at five o’clock in the afternoon, it is deserted making it an unsafe place. So, the idea of making a new station there and connecting it to the new metro line was also to try to introduce a piece of nature and a piece of the original part of Naples into this artificial part of the city. The new station was built over the existing metro lines, replacing an earlier building that was little more than a cover for the stairs leading down to the metro platforms.
The station’s redesign features a signature dramatic and sculptural wooden roof, made entirely out of glued laminated timber (glulam) and anchored to concrete columns through steel joints, which introduces a sense of nature into this densely built part of the city. According to the architects, wood is a very light material that blends perfectly with the pre-existing structures. The steel part of the concrete matches to make the base of the new columns, and then the rest of the column is entirely made of wood. The characteristic shape of the 10,000 sqm station is made of glued laminated timber. The width of the train tracks below is reflected in the width of the undulating vaults.
Vaults are a regular feature of the studio. It is an architectural device that works with most materials because historically, vaults were made first with stone and then with ceramic, and today it is effective with wood, especially glulam because it can be molded into any shape you want it to be. The vaulted ceilings are also a nod to classic train stations that are often vaulted, while the shape of the station was intended to create the feeling of a ‘walk in the woods’. Central to this redesign was the objective to breathe new life into an area that, while busy with life during the day, gets quieter after businesses close for the evening.
“Wood was chosen for this project because of its versatility, sustainability, and the warmth it brings to urban spaces. It not only integrates harmoniously with the surrounding environment but also provides a timeless aesthetic that evolves beautifully over time. Working with wood in the Centro Direzionale di Napoli allowed us to create structures that are both innovative and inviting, making it an ideal material for this vibrant and dynamic setting. In a way, what we tried to achieve is a kind of new organic, flowing piazza, as if we were walking through a forest when we are actually in such an artificial business center,” stated the architects.
The Centro Direzionale is one of the new metro stations within the new infrastructure projects in Naples designed by well-known architects and designers, such as Zaha Hadid or Karim Rashid, which are being designed for the city under the AAA (architecture, art and archaeology) motto. However, the overall project has been delayed several times due to archaeological finds on the ground, including the design by Studio Fuksas which will now also serve as a museum after the discovery of an ancient Roman temple on the site. The Centro Direzionale station did not have the same problem, as it is located in a newer part of the city, but construction was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The station also features a piece of art on its ceiling depicting a face from an archaeological piece found in Pompeii, in a nod to both the art and architecture of the project’s motto. Overall, the design of the Naples Underground Central Station combines art, architecture, and archaeology, giving the site a highly recognizable identity that contrasts its surroundings and historical context. Designed by an internationally renowned architect, the project redesigns an urban space with a complex and symbolic topography, creating a dialogue between the present, the past, and the volcanic nature of Naples.
