Belém, Pará, Brazil
Although bus stations are usually seen as a place where users board and disembark, Fernando Andrade & Associates wanted to create a facility as more than just an urban node that converges and connects people, but as an artifact that also enables decision-making.
The project integrates environmentally certified materials like recycled steel and involves local shipyard workers, aligning with social responsibility goals.
As a primary architectural gesture, the architects created a central module, which, naturally illuminated, humanizes the space: this, on a human scale, allows people to choose their routes.
For its design qualities, the Amazon Bus Station has been awarded a 2024 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Its glass façade reflects the surrounding environment, creating a mixture of movements, shapes and colors that enhance the experience inside.
In short, this project is born out of a dialog with its context: its immediate physical surroundings and its vocation as an urban focus.
In this way, the architects propose a facility that will be linked by buses and public bicycles.
Considering the dynamism of urban mobility and the growing demand for more efficient devices, the architects designed a flexible structure, allowing for future expansion.
The architects eliminated unevenness, physical and visual barriers, making boarding and disembarking accessible and fast, reducing mobility time and increasing the reliability of the public transport system.
Social responsibility and sustainability were the two premises established by the client.
Based on this, the architects used workers from shipyards in the region, engaging the local population.
The team also opted for environmentally certified inputs that are abundant in the Amazon region, such as recycled steel.
The glass fins that ventilate the top of the structure provide environmental comfort and reference the rich heritage of Amazonian architecture.
Project: Amazon Bus Station
Architects: Fernando Andrade & Associates
Lead Architect: Fernando Andrade
DesignTeam: Manuela Oliveira
General Contractor: SESPA
Client: Integrated Center for Inclusion and Rehabilitation
Photographers: Walda Marques
