In 1983, an invitational competition was called to enlarge Atocha Station, which meant demolishing the Carlos I overpass, as well as the extension and remodeling of the historical roof, the creation of a local commuter train station, the construction of a bus interchange, and a parking lot.

The solution was to build a new access platform at the head of the station, reachable from the intersection of Calle Alfonso XII and Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona. Hence the layout of the entry points was inverted, turning the facade resulting from the marquee into the station’s new entrance.

Moreover, the drop between this entrance and the train platforms contributed to the necessary separation between departures and arrivals, as well as defining the accesses to the station and the new interchange with different architectural solutions. The platforms were sheltered in a hypostyle hall, which underlined the obliquity of the railway in relation to the alignments established by the roof. The cylinder/lantern interchange is, on the one hand, a sign announcing the presence of the station to the city, making it easy for buses to turn, and on the other hand, a skylight enlivening and illuminating the local commuter train station, on whose roof the parking lot was located. The Atocha Station project was based on a strategy which gave priority to the idea of urban continuity. The validity of this strategy was confirmed when an extension was carried out not long ago, between 2007 and 2012.

The new high-speed train lines connecting Madrid with Barcelona and Valencia made it necessary to enlarge the station, where it would also now be easier to distinguish between arrivals and departures through two entrances at different levels. The objective was to allow faster and more efficient unloading of trains, connecting the access with the hypostyle hall of the platform extension. This hall’s warped forms and the strong change of color – the metal structure is now painted white – establish a marked contrast with the first intervention, characterized by the use of concrete and the ceramic tones of the brick. This allows to identify the various stages of growth of a station that, on the other hand, includes several artistic interventions, like the intelligent and sensitive one by César Paternosto on the lattice truss of the new arrivals hall...[+][+]