New High Speed Station Napoli Afragola, designed by Zaha Hadid

The concept of the New High Speed Station Napoli Afragola, designed by Zaha Hadid , emerges from the idea of enlarging the overhead concourse, required to access the various platforms, to such a degree that it can become the main passenger concourse itself.
This train station is intended to serve as a transit hub that will function as a gateway to the city of Naples, and so it makes sense that Hadid took inspiration from the concept behind the common bridge.


The most obvious connection between the station and the concept of a bridge can be found in the architecture itself – the 2000m2 (21,528 square feet) structure stretches along the land and eventually reaches up and over the train tracks, creating an overhead interior concourse. Travelers use this bridged area in order to get to platforms on the opposite end of the building without having to go outside, likewise, local residents can use the station to get from one adjacent neighbourhood to the next without having to go around the property.
“This is a through-station that acts as the nucleus of a new, proposed business park linking the various surrounding towns. It also allows two strips of extended parkland to move openly through the site alongside the tracks, opening and connecting the station to the surrounding landscape and business park…Our concept is a bridge extending across the tracks, an urbanised public link shaped by a dynamic architectural language geared towards the articulation of movement.” Zaha Hadid