ORIENTE STATION

The station, as already indicated, is located in the Parque das Nacoes, in a central position, and the
envelope changes a lot depending on which side of the station we are on. On the east front, the main
facade is a large entrance marked by a large console, inspired by a whale, as we will see Calatrava has
several sources of inspiration (men and animals) in addition to this console there is a large square that
concludes on the main avenue of Porque das Nacoes, located on the sidewalk opposite the shopping
center, Vasco da Gama, which is always a very strong pole of attraction within the urban context
throughout the day.

In contrast, in the opposite area of the Gare do Oriente is the conclusion of the station, a smaller console
and another open space of smaller dimensions, which faces some stores of a chain of hypermarkets and
some abandoned land; The north and south facades, as the station is symmetrical in this axis, are the same
in architecture, and also the envelope changes quite a little, on the north side there is more abandoned
land with a large slope inclined towards the station, on the south side there is a gas station and some land
that works as illegal parking.

As has been said, the station develops perfectly symmetrically on an east-west axis and its nerve center in
the large atrium where the operation of the station can be understood by its levels.

The Gene is developed on the horizontal in two large areas, the bus and taxi terminal, with the arms that
come out of the central distribution body (herringbone) and that serve as a connection between the O level
of the station where the buses arrive and level 1 where the lockers are located; and the other large area in
which the metro and railway station are located, and the center of commerce and services. Later in the
work, the operation of these areas will be explained in more detail.

In total, the station has maximum dimensions of 250 meters wide on the roof of the train binaries, the
widest area from North to South, by 317 meters on the main axis from East to West. Other elements of
the station of considerable dimensions are, for example, the six arms of the bus terminal with 112 meters
long by 11 wide, or the internal height of the central atrium of 20 meters approx.

One of the most spectacular aspects of the station is its environment, all made of glass, white painted steel
and concrete, giving a sensation of remarkable lightness taking into account its dimensions, with all its
forms having a futuristic appearance, characterized by curves and the triumph of the diagonal line, which
gains much prominence in the structure in any part of the station: either e! material, it gains new
plasticity, hitherto unseen in Portugal, something even more remarkable considering the complexity of the
season. In addition to the aforementioned materials in one of the parts of the wall, the other material that
also gains prominence is white ceramic, which forms a mosaic on the walls of the gallery on the -2 floor
and access to the parking lot and the bus terminal. Thanks to the application of this material, the gallery
gains more luminosity than would be expected from an underground space.

Horizontal Circulation
The horizontal circulation of the Gare de Oriente develops in a different at various levels of the station.
At level - 2, the lower floor of the Gare, the horizontal circulation develops through a central atrium and
next to the commercial spaces that exist there, continuing towards the west through a gallery that ends at
the end of the station, which it continues below the bus zone and that makes the connection with it.

On floor -1, there is hardly any underground car park, so there is no type of horizontal circulation
between it and the Gare space.

On level 0, the floor that is at street level, horizontal circulation is carried out through an existing
walkway in the central atrium, forming the connection in the north-south direction (the direction of the
train tracks), connecting areas of commerce and services. At this level, there is no clear connection in the
east-west direction, linking the bus platforms with the central atrium.

On floor 1, where all the train support services are located, horizontal communication is carried out
mainly by the space between waiting rooms and ticket offices, in addition to some walkways that more
directly connect the various points on this floor. In the bus terminal area, horizontal circulation is carried
out by a large glass and steel walkway from which the different communication arms with the lower deck
come out, on this walkway, there are the bus ticket offices.
Two bridges were also built that connects the station with the Vasco da Gama shopping center, leaving
from a part of the ticket office area, the one that is further to this.
The railway lines are located on floor 2, and therefore the horizontal circulation is limited to the platforms
waiting for the train.

Vertical Circulation
The vertical circulation of the station is distributed by several points throughout the station, which are
located along the east-west axis.
Describing from east to west, and starting from floor-0, firstly we find two manual ladders that connect
with floor -2, then two sets of four manual and automatic ladders connecting with floor 1, then another
two sets of two connecting escalators with floor -2, then two more sets of four manual and automatic
access ladders to floor 1 and finally two more manual access ladders to floor -2.

Business and Services

In this station, there is a commercial space and a service space
These spaces are always developed laterally to the main communication and circulation space in the
center of the station, always being symmetrical spaces.
The main commercial space is located on level -2, to which we have direct access through the main
square, this space is defined by a set of pillars that divide the atrium space on the -2 floor, here we can
find several types of commerce, restaurants, clothing, footwear, hairdresser, etc.
The main service space is located on floor 0, at street level, with the façade turned to the atrium in a
curved shape, creating an open space for access to these services separated from the main flow of people
in the station.
In addition to services in these spaces, we can find a trade, such as pharmacies, stationery, supermarket.
The other service space is located behind this, with the main facade facing the street, but protected by a
line of thick pillars that separate it from the road line, here are station management services, transport,
cafeterias, fast food.

Metro Station
The metro station is the Oriente station on the red line, which is currently the last stop on this line, which
connects the Parque das Naliíes with the city center, and the continuity of this line is already under
construction, starting from this station with Lisbon airport, the largest nationwide.
The metro station is located on floor -3, which is accessed, as already indicated, through stairs on floor -2,
where there are 2 mechanical and manual sets, one facing the atrium and others facing the access gallery
to parking and buses, or by elevators that go up to floor 1, the ticket office area.
This station has as themes the ocean, maritime life, and the East, being decorated with some highly
colored works by various artists, always made of azulejo, the typical material of Portuguese murals.

Bus Terminal and Taxis

The main space dedicated to bus and taxi services is located in the western part of the station, behind the
main body of the station, and is distributed along the main axis from which the communication arms with
the platforms orthogonal to the east emerge.
When we leave the main body of the station we immediately come across the taxi area that occupies a
communication arm. Next, we find the urban bus area, which connects with various points in Lisbon.
These buses also have another stopping area for some lines, in the lateral areas of the station, which run
parallel to it.
After these, we have the extra-urban buses, which connect with areas of the metropolitan area of Lisbon,
the east, north, and south, the other bank of the river. In the final platforms are buses that make the
national and international connection lines.
The national and international bus ticket offices are located at three points: on the west façade of the main
body of the gare, directed outwards, on the main axis of the road area on the upper floor, and the west end
of the station.
The waiting area dedicated to these last two types of service is located on the upper floor, at the end of the
main axis that connects all the arms. It is an open area that can be seen when the buses arrive,
Access to this area was planned to be done through the main body that crosses the arms, but only through
the lower and upper floors that cross the arms, that is, it was designed so that people did not cross at the
level of the Street. Some stairs connect the lower floor to the road level and stairs that connect this level
with the upper floor, besides, six elevators connect the three levels.

Train Station
The space dedicated to rail service and transport is one of the most important spaces in the gare. It
occupies two levels, floor 1 and floor 2 As the railway lines already existed at an elevated level, they
continue at that level, currently being the highest in the gare. There are eight binaries, protected by a
fairly high roof in steel and glass, inspired by the shape of the trees. This cover is one of the features of
the station that can be distinguished from afar.
On floor 1 is the second part of the station reserved for this means of transport, where the lockers, waiting
rooms, toilets, and support areas for this service are located.
Access from the station to floor 1 can be done via stairwells or elevators, located in the central atrium, but
then to access the level of the binaries other accesses hardly make the connection between the two floors
belonging to the company. trains, so there is no direct connection from the main gare space to the level of
the binaries.
There is also a direct connection between the bus ticket area on floor 1 and the train ticket area, also on
floor 1, with the connection between the different means of transport being quite fast.

Parking
Concerning parking, this station has an underground parking lot divided into two floors (-1 and -2) with a
capacity for two thousand cars.
Road access to the car park is made through two entrances that pass laterally to the station (from north to
south) located underneath its structure.
At the pedestrian level, access is through the main axis, in the west area, on floor -2, the gallery that
extends below the bus area, being connected by stairs and elevators on the sides.
This car park, like all the ones in the area, is paid, but probably because it is located in a station, it is
cheaper than most.

Critics:
GENERAL SPACE
The main strong point of the station is its image, it offers great beauty to those who arrive, it is an almost
metaphysical, religious space, far from the initial idea of a knot of exchange, the height and the formal
composition in which the element almost does not exist wall to define the space, but it is the material, the
pillars, the change of pavement, the change of level, are the elements that mark and separate the different
areas.

When the initial impact caused by its image is overcome and the station is effectively used as such,
leaving aside its formal value, it is verified that the functional aspect has not been thought so much, how
the passengers occupy the space, how they behave, how they interact With space, a study of the routines
of the trip is lacking, more specifically the waiting time that always happens on the trip. there is no
coherence between the architectural dimension and the use, the functionality.

In fact, concerning the waiting time, the station only works well if it is in constant movement, at the
moment when we are forced to wait, even if it is only a few minutes of connection between different
means of transport, we are in an uncomfortable space, in which to sit in a relatively sheltered space we are
forced to pay for a coffee,

Precisely due to its design without walls that separate some spaces from others, an air current is created
that is pleasant in summer or spring, but in winter, being already a colder season, it creates an unpleasant
atmosphere, accentuating the feeling of cold.

Despite being a season in which glass is a very present material when it can be dark, concrete does not
help to strengthen and reflect light on a darker day, and the existing artificial lighting is scarce, taking into
account the dimensions of the space in question,

Another defect that the station has, in general, is the choice of material for the interior pavement, it is a
dark gray, polished stone, which causes that on rainy days when users enter the station carrying water to
it, being so Polished causes the pavement to be quite slippery, and since Lisbon is a fairly humid city, it
takes a long time to dry out, even with automated means it is not possible to guarantee the safety of the
user if it were a more porous stone this problem could be less.

Metro station
The main problem we found when analyzing the metro station is that no elevator makes the direct
connection between the different floors of the stop with the metro station, which forces the user to take an
elevator to floor -2 and another to access the subway, this is particularly serious in the case of the typical
user of the elevator as a means of vertical communication, someone with reduced mobility, this person is
forced to increase their journey because of this dysfunction.

Bus Terminal
Box office operating scheme: to buy a ticket you have to go to the upper floor, in the case of national or
international travel buses.

On the boarding platforms and waiting for the bus on the floor OR the height and shape of the deck leaves
passengers completely unprotected, being more affected by the cold and rain.

On floor 1, the supposed waiting area, there are no benches, or they are wet, a completely poorly designed
area, without any protection from the elements.

End zone of the station taken by beggars, it is an area in which there is no circulation between zones, it
inspires little security.

If the passenger is located in one of the last waiting platforms, they are too far from some basic services
such as coffee, or mainly toilets, especially for the elderly.

Parking for vehicles buses insufficient for

the number of vehicles that circulate in this station.

Concept problem for forcing people to go up to floor 1 or go down to floor -2 and then return to floor O to
take the bus. people do not take this route, they go directly along with the level of the road, where buses
circulate, which have little visibility.

Train Station

Waiting space and lockers are both dysfunctional, even at the design level they seem to have been added
later.
Few waiting rooms for the station's passenger level and they do not present the necessary comfort for a
long wait, especially at the level of air conditioning
The general operating scheme does not work, the idea that the train station works like an airport, that is,
that the waiting space is separated from the entrance space to the vehicle does not work, because people
want to see the train arrive, so as not to miss it, which means that instead of waiting on floor 1, where
they are more protected, they go directly to floor 2, except on long-distance trains in which people often
arrive at the station earlier.
Floor 2, where many people wait, is not prepared for this, despite being a very beautiful design it does not
have the same quality at a functional level, the height of the roof, as in the bus area, causes make
passengers suffer from wind, cold and rain in winter.
Conclusion
After conducting this research and analysis, we can conclude that the Gare Intermoclal de lisbon, the
Estadio do Oriente is a beautiful work of architecture, unique in the country and a great symbol of this
new area of the city of Lisbon, and even of the entire area. the metropolitan area of this city, the progress
in this sector, and who knows if it is a model for future exchange nodes.
Incontestable its forms, the use of the material and the mastery of technique and technology by Calatrava,
some of the decisions made concerning certain problems are very questionable, the fact of neglecting the
wait as it was done is a serious aspect of the project, although there are several types of defect, material,
use, maintenance, some are the responsibility of the architect, others are not, there are some defects that
are in our opinion the most serious, these are those of the project since someone with extensive Calatrava
is worrying that he trumpets the mistakes that have been made in this station since it will be the day-to-
day user who evaluates the station, says if it works, if it is comfortable, fast, easy to orient himself, and in
this case and later Having read and spoken with users of the various media, we can see that it fails in
various aspects. Without a doubt, it is a very complex project, but architects can never forget that we
project for the average user, not for colleagues, who will undoubtedly appreciate our work in photos, or
by taking a tourist visit to the work, it gives us the impression that in this infrastructure this has been
renounced, that it has been projected for the eye, for the photo, and not for the person who catches the
train at 8 in the morning or who takes the bus back home later of a day's work.
It is indeed important to make our works endowed with beauty, but we believe that this is also possible
without forgetting the function of the station, what is done in it, and how it is done.
In the next few years, the station will be expanded to include high-speed lines, which will further enhance
its importance at the metropolitan, national, and international levels.
In the expansion project, the architect Calatrava has promised to modify the current station as much as
possible to correct the existing faults. We do not doubt that he will do it, and we hope that given his
ability as an architect he will be able to improve an already great work of architecture.