Vialia Estación de Vigo

The port city of Vigo is the major economic generator of Galicia, a region on the western coast of Spain with a distinct culture, language, and historic nationality. Since the democratic transition in the 1970s, Galicia has been slowly growing its infrastructure to compete with other European economic centers. One of the major infrastructure projects in this effort is a new high-speed rail line linking Madrid to Porto. Vigo is a key point in this route, and the new Vialia Vigo Station was designed to become the flagship transportation and commercial center for both the city and region. The project involved transforming the city’s local rail station into a cosmopolitan, multi-modal transportation hub.

Supporting a range of mobility options, the station complex houses a new high-speed railway connecting Vigo to Madrid and the broader region, links to the adjacent bus station, 1,549-space car park, cycling lanes, and pedestrian connections. Vialia Vigo also supports the social and economic growth of the city with a variety of new public, retail, and commercial spaces—including a new 30,000m2 public plaza complete with skate parks and sports courts, and a bustling retail mall with over 125 shops and restaurants, cinemas, and grocery stores.


Embedded in the hillside, the station stitches together the surrounding context and reinforces urban connections to the city of Vigo. The narrow site negotiates a 17-meter drop in elevation between a hillside neighborhood and Vigo’s city center. The expansive roof-scape of the six-story station and shopping center creates a public plaza overlooking the sea, patterned with native plants, activity areas, and pavilions providing entrance to the lower levels. Below the plaza, the shopping center is organized around a large atrium space illuminated by skylights and a multi-story window framing the port.


The main entry and drop off point for the train station, bus station, and shopping center occurs on the lower level, under an urban-scaled marquee featuring the station’s name. The façade of the original station has been preserved, relocated alongside the new entrance to become a point of historical interest welcoming visitors to Vigo. Knit into the fabric of the city on three sides, the station’s full form is revealed on its north elevation, where the sweeping plane of perforated steel paneling creates a grand gesture along the main highway leading into Vigo.