Vialia Vigo Intermodal Station | Morphosis

The Los Angeles-based global architecture and planning firm led the design transformation of the city’s local rail station into an energetic cosmopolitan center and multi-modal transportation hub. Supporting a range of mobility options, the station complex houses a new high-speed railway connecting Vigo to Madrid and the broader region, links to the adjacent bus station, 1,549-space car park, cycling lanes, and pedestrian connections. Vialia Vigo also supports the social and economic growth of the city with a variety of new public, retail, and commercial spaces—including a new 30,000m2 public plaza complete with skate parks and sports courts, and a bustling retail mall with over 125 shops and restaurants, cinemas, and grocery stores. Morphosis worked in partnership with BDU Arquitectura and L35 as well as their clients, retail operator NHood, and railway infrastructure manager ADIF in the creation of the project.
 
Nestled into the mountainous coastal terrain, the station negotiates a 17-meter drop in elevation between a hillside neighborhood and Vigo’s city center. The expansive roof-scape of the six-story station and shopping center creates a public plaza overlooking the sea, patterned with native plants, activity areas, and pavilions providing entrance to the lower levels. Below the plaza, the shopping center is organized around a large atrium space illuminated by skylights and a multi-story window framing the port. The main entry and drop off point for the train station, bus station, and shopping center occurs on the lower level, under an urban-scaled marquee featuring the station’s name. The façade of the original station has been preserved, relocated alongside the new entrance to become a point of historical interest welcoming visitors to Vigo. Embedded into the fabric of the city on three sides, the station’s full form is revealed on its north elevation, where the sweeping plane of perforated steel paneling creates a grand gesture along the main highway leading into Vigo.
 
Morphosis Founder and Project Design Director Thom Mayne states: “The development positions Vialia Vigo as the new metropolitan center of the city and links it to the broader region. As a primary destination point, the project expands the opportunities of the site’s cliff condition by building a connection between the bay and existing town; for example, the roof deck acts as an elevated piazza, providing views outward and space for commercial activity. The station redesigns the city by broadening the implications of architecture as urban connective tissue.”
 
Morphosis Partner and Project Partner-in-Charge Brandon Welling notes: “Vialia Vigo TGV Station demonstrates the firm’s continued interest in collaborating with cities to create projects and interventions that enhance urban connectivity while engaging with the day-to-day experience of its users. Not only does Vialia Vigo provide critical infrastructure to the region, but it creates a new gateway to the city that will catalyze social and commercial growth.”
 
Morphosis’ work plays into the larger renewal of the station and its other public spaces, with future urban developments to follow. The project anticipates public connections at the plaza’s eastern edge and a pedestrian bridge now under construction connecting the lower areas of the city with the station. The reinvigorating of the Vialia Vigo station creates a new gateway for the emerging city, catalyzing growth and vibrancy to lead Vigo and the surrounding region into the future.

MORPHOSIS TEAM
Design Director
Thom Mayne
 
Partner-In-Charge
Brandon Welling
 
Project Managers
Charles Lamy (Phase 1)
Crystal Wang (Phase 2)
 
Project Designers
Hunter Knight
Daniel Pruske
Ben Toam
 
Project Team
Jessica Chang
Debbie Chen
Katherine Corsico
Kabalan Fares
Stuart Franks
Janice Kim
Jennie Matusova
Stephanie Rigolot
Go-Woon Seo
Satoru Sugihara
Aleksander Tamm-Seitz
Natalia Traverso Caruana
 
Advanced Technology
Cory Brugger
Kerenza Harris
Stan Su
Atsushi Sugiuchi
 
Project Assistants
Fredy Gomez
Ibrahim Ibrahim
Darlene Ifeorah
Ilko Iliev
Matt Lake
Eric Lawler
Owen Merrick
Eric Meyer
Jean Oei
Danny Ortega
Yugin Sim
Alan Tai
 
 
Visualization
Jasmine Park
Josh Sprinkling
 
 
CONSULTANTS
 
Partner Architect
B+DU Estudio de Arquitectura
 
Partner Principal-In-Charge
Begoña Diaz-Urgorri
Leon Benacerraf
 
Partner Project Architect
Alicia Berenguer
 
Partner Project Team
Alicia Bautista
Manuel Cifuentes
Elisabeth González
Martín González-Garcés Mediero
Teresa Goyarrola
Borja Herrero
Eider Holgado
Agustín Sánchez
Esther Vidal
 
Associate Architect
Coot Federico Sotomayor (Phase 1)
L 35 (Phase 2)
 
Project Management
Riofisa Sau
 
Structural Engineer
Fhecor
Luis Casas
 
MEP Engineer
Inypsa Sa