The Kaleidoscopic Station

A colorful commute
The Kaleidoscopic Station, León, Spain
 

Traveling by high-speed rail underground—whether as a daily commute or on a special excursion—has been upgraded in León, Spain, with an 11-station transformation visible above and below ground. Luminous, kaleidoscopic skylights have earned this noteworthy rail renovation an honorable mention in the 2022 Vanceva™ World of Color Awards™.

The skylights are fabricated by Tvitec and are made of laminated and tempered safety glass integrated with varying ranges of Vanceva color PVB interlayers. Eastman’s colored interlayers were autoclaved between pieces of safety glass that are between 6–8 mm thick. A combination of six different Vanceva color interlayers was used alone or stacked together to create even more unique shades, following the guidelines of the installer, Sarriglass, and the general project construction manager, Copasa.

The intent of the skylights is to provide light and transparency to the underground railway station. The use of vibrant colors contrasts with the traditional architecture of the historic station. Above ground, the skylight structures deliver a modern and colorful aesthetic to the surrounding environment. The Vanceva PVB interlayers also offer added security and safety by helping to prevent falling glass if impacted and provide UV protection from the sun’s harmful rays.

Adif (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias), operator of most of Spain’s railway infrastructure with the collaboration of INECO, an engineering and consultancy company in sustainable mobility and digital transformation, and architect Fernando Liébana collaborated to create the project.

WOCA juror Jeffrey Monzu found the renovated train stations of León to be “a unique application creating a whimsical underground environment.”

Juror Monika Kumor added, “Transparency and color greatly improve public space through the León’s high-speed underground rail design marking the way both below and above ground with distinctive colorful elliptical glass skylights.”