Lisbon Operational Command Centre

Located near the station of Braço de Prata, in-between the street and the railway, this building composed of two bodies hosts all the command and control systems of rail transit in the central area of the country. It possesses technical and functional characteristics of great complexity (namely in the spatial design of the control room). This room with three floors constitutes one of the bodies of the building and operates as its epicentre. This body manages and articulates another, with four stories, where the entrance is located and where the remaining service areas are placed. This spatial organization is mirrored onto the outside through the geometric contrast of these two bodies. The opacity of the semi-cylindrical control room features horizontal protrusions that, during the day, allow for the indirect entry of light, plastically configuring the atmosphere on the inside. At night, on the contrary, they emanate artificial light to the exterior, strengthening the contemporary aesthetics it adopts regarding the urban context it is located in. As a counterpoint, we observe the other volume, which, by means of mobile and mirrored vertical blades, allows for different shading configurations, creating a game between transparency and light.