Canopies of the main entrances of the Brescia below-ground underground stations

The project for the canopies of the main entrances of the Brescia below-ground underground stations was born of the need to protect the accesses from the weather, make its use safe and at the same time diminish the maintenance cost of the escalators.

This project involves 10 stations, with the exclusion of those in the historical town centre squares, and is the last step of a long path that has equipped the city with a new public transport system.

The proposal is based on the desire to build a single and unique object, for its functionality and design, which never changes even when in different places. Variations are deliberately rejected in favour of a body that can always be recognised.

The canopies are developed as a box characterised by a strong reduction of the material components. the structure, entirely in steel, supports the real force distribution. Almost insubstantial when seen from outside, it is able to absorb the required loads and at the same time form the pyramid that creates the reflections required by the project.

The covering is made of steel sheets, satin-finished on the pillars and with a mirror finish for the internal false ceiling. Protection against the elements is guaranteed by full-height extra-clear glass slabs while a roller shutter allows closing during night time. The top covering has solar panels installed with a total production, for all stations, of

148 Kwh/Year.

The challenge is to ‘activate’ the public space with the insertion of an element able to interact with the various sites without altering their conditions and maintaining a simple composition. The geometry of the structure and the physical features of the materials used constantly change as the day goes by and as climate and seasons change. The glass transparency, the lightness of the shape and the iridescence of the steel allow the project to be permeable to the sight, reflect the surroundings and mix with them. At night each stair is lighted. The light reflected by the reflective material allows the interior to be read and engages the immediate surroundings.

The objective has been to deprive the designed object of all possible solidity and to find in this deprivation the premise of sustainability. The canopies are a small landmark able to become part of the local imagery and generate new possibilities of use of the spaces.