RESTYLING OF THE SCAMPIA METRO STATION, NAPLES
The transformation of an unfinished ruin as an opportunity of urban regeneration
Gambardella Architetti
One year ago, the Scampia Metro Station resembled just another unfinished ruin in the Italian landscape. The occasion to intervene through a process of synthesis that sees new architecture welcomes art, design and music to create the final stop of Naples’ famous “subway museum”, proved an immediately stimulating challenge. The interventions we proposed began with the long main elevation, adorned by a secondary structure, a sort of second face made of an irregular pattern of gold steel rods. The interior space was completed by silver panels and a perforated metal mesh that transformed the pre-existing structure into a station whose entrance is a large covered plaza. A golden portico transmits sound and light as people pass by, while metallic red backdrops increase the perception of depth. The design models a path characterised by a sequence of metallic trees that accompanies flows of visitors along the stairs leading down to the train platforms. The sequence ends with a vertical “blade” that cuts the south façade to make the entrance to the new station visible from the platforms.
